Aswekeepsearching Set for Singapore Grand Prix Performance in September

When you’re about to get on stage at a (literally) high-octane event like a Formula 1 race, it helps to have heavier songs. Post-rock act Aswekeepsearching’s bandleader and vocalist-guitarist Uddipan Sarmah says they’ll only be playing songs with distortion turned up at the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 16th.

He adds with a laugh, “No mellow things. I don’t want to get disturbed by the [imitates cars racing] sound. Might as well stick to the vibe and play ‘There You Are’ and ‘B-303.’” Aswekeepsearching will perform as part of the entertainment lineup on the general stage, alongside mainstage acts including British pop veteran Robbie Williams, American pop/hip-hop star Post Malone, rock band Kings Of Leon, pop artist Jackson Wang, alt-rock band The Kooks and several more.

The offer to perform at Singapore Grand Prix came in early 2023, right after their set at the inaugural edition of Lollapalooza India in Mumbai in January. Following a “long conversation” that involved a bit of negotiation, the performance at the motorsports event was sealed. Having artists perform at F1 races is pretty much par for the course, with Kolkata dream-pop act Parekh & Singh also getting an offer to perform in Singapore in 2019. When India’s erstwhile Buddh International Circuit would get its turn to host F1 races on the calendar, the F1 Rocks concert series brought in everyone from Lady Gaga to Santana and more.

Aswekeepsearching, for their part, are also planning to make the most of their trip to Singapore. “We have some meetings lined up… our interest now lies on the Western market heavily, for the next two to three years. It’s probably because we’ve played enough in India,” Sarmah says. Although admitting that they’re kind of “bored” about playing the same club circuit in India over and over, Sarmah does add there will likely be a few shows on home ground to gather up funds for the Singapore trip.

The way Sarmah sees it, the demand for Indian artists to perform in other countries has perhaps gone up because even those markets are tired of seeing the same artists over and over. “It’s a good place to be at, because the earlier, the international conversations I would have in 2015… it’s definitely progressed. The response time has reduced. Now, they want someone new to be on their bill. It’s helping us. It’s now just about keeping our mental cool so that we don’t disrupt anything,” he adds.

The band’s upcoming fifth full-length album has been in production over the last two years. While shows have been less than conducive for Aswekeepsearching’s writing and recording headspace, Sarmah notes that the band members – bassist Bob Alex and drummer Sambit Chatterjee – have been bringing in their influences from just “surviving as human beings” to the new album. “This time I have also used so many new words in the lyrics. Not intentionally… the lyrics are also so different in terms of all these words that are used, the grammatical changes that have come and I’m enjoying my lyrics for the first time,” Sarmah says. While a lead single might drop later this year, the full album is expected to release in 2024.