The F16s to Release New EP

Chennai band The F16s in New York – Josh Fernandez, Vikram Yesudas. Abhinav Krishnaswamy, Shashank Manohar, Harshan Radhakrishnan

When Chennai electro rock band The F16s landed in New York in October after winning the Road to Converse Rubber Tracks in India band competition, they were ready to party. Says vocalist Josh Fernandez, “Then they [Converse] told us there was another guy coming along to shoot a video diary of our New York experience.”

Despite a camera trained on them during the three days they spent recording at the Rubber Tracks Studio in Brooklyn, New York, the band didn’t feel any pressure. Says Fernandez, “As soon as we entered the studio, I found the one thing I really needed ”“ a counter with an unlimited amount of American black coffee ”“ none of that filter coffee stuff.” With help from record engineer Aaron Bastinelli ”“ who has previously worked with American rock band The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas and singer Charli XCX ”“ the band recorded two songs, “Jacuzzi” and “Blackboard.” The F16s had rehearsed so hard before they went into the studio with Bastinelli so that they wouldn’t waste any time rearranging or rethinking songs. Says Fernandez, “We picked two of our best songs and went in completely prepared. Plus, everything was so efficient at the studio that we didn’t have to wait for anything to be set up ”“ from getting gear to tracking.”

After spending three days recording, the band played a small Halloween party in Brooklyn and went to gigs by the likes of rock bands Warpaint and Julian Casablancas + The Voidz in and around New York. Says Fernandez, “We also went around to Times Square and saw [street performer] the Naked Cowboy.” The vocalist adds that the only reason the band’s spirits didn’t nose dive once they returned to India was because they had seven gigs lined up in November, including sets at all four editions of Bacardi NH7 Weekender, the Vans New Wave Musicfest in Goa and the Windsong festival in Hyderabad. In addition to the recently-recorded tracks, the band is testing newer, heavier material such as “667” and “Meow Meow.” Adds Fernandez, “Everybody still asks us for ”˜Avalanche’ and ”˜Lightbulbs’ [the bands’ earliest set staples from their 2013 EP Kaleidoscope], so we give it to them, but it’s kinda oversaturated for us to play those old songs now.”

While the band’s keyboardist Harshan Radhakrishnan fell ill and wasn’t able to make it to Weekender in Pune, the band have a club show in Chennai this week ahead of Weekender Delhi and Windsong appearances, which Fernandez says will be much more free-flowing. Says the vocalist about their Chennai show, “We get a good two-hour set and fool around a lot, since it’s home ground. There’ll be a lot of jams, impromptu covers and we might even get a few friends who are rappers on stage.”

The F16s November Tour:

November 28th ”“ Bay 146, Chennai

November 29th ”“ Windsong Festival, Boulder Hills, Hyderabad

November 30th ”“ Bacardi NH7 Weekender, Buddh International Circuit, Delhi NCR

Watch The F16s recording at the Rubber Tracks Studio in New York