Exclusive Premiere: Home Brewed Universe Turns to Prog on ‘Loop In Translation’

When you have 16 cats lounging around your home, it’s possible that they can somehow influence your songwriting. In the case of Hyderabad-based songwriter, composer and guitarist Arka Sengupta and his instrumental rock project Home Brewed Universe, it was a pretty literal influence when his fluffy ginger cat Puchku decided to get involved in his songwriting and initiate a melody for his new song “Loop In Translation.”

Sengupta tells us he was taking a breather from his session, moving away from his keyboard when Puchku decided to poke around and pressed a key. “The sound came out and it surprised her. But, I guess, she enjoyed it as well because the very next moment she simply decided to walk over the key-plate. And as she did, a certain melody came out that took me by surprise,” Sengupta says. Understandably, the songwriter — who also writes ambient-leaning material under the moniker Mixtaped Monk — says it’s a “stimulating environment” when 16 cats are around. 

His forthcoming album The Time Thief is inspired by science fiction, the DC comic universe and time travel, but the songs have different starting points. He says, “The idea of making a track like ‘The Joker And The Thief’ [on The Time Thief] — which is a very playful and mischievous track — in the album came to me while watching two of my cats running around and playing with each other.”

The new song leads with a prog rock influence much more prominent than before, departing from Home Brewed Universe’s distinct leanings towards soloing over layered soundscapes. Sengupta says, “I didn’t want this album to sound like any of my previous albums. I also wanted it to sound like the soundtrack of an epic sci-fi action adventure movie. And I was listening to a lot of Deftones, Tool and A Perfect Circle before I started composing the album. So, the riffier aspect of it was quite naturally flowing.” 

With seven releases in less than two years, Sengupta is certainly focusing more on Home Brewed Universe than Mixtaped Monk, but he says it’s a natural tendency. “It will take a while before any Mixtaped Monk material appears in the market. And that is because I simple don’t feel that peaceful, simple and positive in life anymore. I want to experiment with Home Brewed Universe as much as possible right now.” 

Listen to “Loop In Translation” below. Pre-order The Time Thief here.