Exclusive Premiere: GrooveBot Gets Heavy, Calls on Anand Bhaskar for New Song ‘Under Pressure’

Following two singles over the past couple of years, Mumbai guitarist-composer Chinmay Agharkar’s industrial rock/metal project GrooveBot returns with his first release of 2022 and it’s might be his heaviest one yet. “Under Pressure,” featuring vocals and lyrics by Mumbai singer-composer and producer Anand Bhaskar and bass by Roop Thomas, packs a mighty wallop as it takes aim at “toxic positivity” that’s often parroted on social media.

Bhaskar, who leads Hindi alternative act Anand Bhaskar Collective and has been helming vocals and composing duties regularly over the years for shows such as Mirzapur, Masoom and Dr. Arora. “Under Pressure” sees him unleash a different side to himself, one that listeners may have only heard glimpses of through the Anand Bhaskar Collective or occasional tribute shows he’s guested at. Bhaskar goes all in – gravelly vocals, heightened growls and soaring vocals all rolled into one song. “I wanted to showcase Anand in a completely different light,” says Agharkar, who has previously worked with vocalists like Siddharth Basrur (“Gentle Scars”) and Pratika Prabhune (“Toxic”) for GrooveBot songs.

As it turns out, Bhaskar’s full range wasn’t even known to Agharkar until the vocals for the song began coming in during composing and production. Bhaskar says in a statement that he’s previously recorded “heavy songs” with various artists for T.V. commercials, but his name often never appears in the credits for those. “This was however an opportunity to create something that channelized my love for heavy music and to do a style of vocals I’ve only ever done at home singing along to my favorite metal bands but never on record,” he adds.

The way Bhaskar delivered his vocals, Agharkar felt like the singer had been preparing for a heavy track that would eventually come his way. “He was surprisingly prepared. He really went all the way with those screams,” Agharkar says. Thomas – formerly of rock band Blakc – was also a easy choice for the producer given his “gritty, fantastic and aggressive playing.”

The song had its first draft more than a year ago, but there was a five to six-month lull owing to Bhaskar’s other projects. Agharkar says, “In between, I sort of gave up on it, but then Anand texted me saying, ‘I remember I have to do this and I will do it. Just bear with me, I’ll make it worth your wait.’” Bhaskar adds, “I have always wanted to do heavy music but for many reasons I couldn’t, and this was such a good track to feature on that if Chinmay wanted me to be a part of another track like this, I’d say yes in a heartbeat.”

It’s slow and steady for GrooveBot releases according to Agharkar, who says it comes together when it has to. While he was waiting on “Under Pressure,” another GrooveBot song idea has manifested itself. “I’m trying to experiment with drum and bass a bit. I’m not very comfortable with that space but I like pushing myself. That’s what GrooveBot is about,” Agharkar adds.

Watch the lyric video for “Under Pressure” below. The song is out on streaming platforms on August 5th.