Exclusive Premiere: Mumbai Act Honey’s Dead Conjure Wavy Rock on ‘Dreamer’

Guitarist Rahsaan Kably and drummer Amith Nambiar started Honey’s Dead in 2015 after being “super inspired by rock and roll” but soon realized their favorite bands were the noisier ilk of Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth and Slowdive. Now shuffling their time between Mumbai and Varkala in Kerala, Honey’s Dead took proper shape in 2017 after the addition of Mumbai-based producer-guitarist Apurv Agrawal. They’re now out with their debut single “Dreamer.”

Drenched in walls of lo-fi guitar riffs and somewhat intentionally incoherent vocals of Kably and vocalist Anokha Kumar (from acoustic/folk band Ink of Bard), “Dreamer” started out as a “punky sort of song” according to the guitarist and vocalist. Kably adds, “I write most of the songs initially by myself and throw it at the band to see what they think about it, and with their input and ideas it usually develops into a complete song and sound that we’re happy with.” Ask him what the song is about and there’s no certain answer. “I guess it’s about everything totally falling apart, and having someone in your life that keeps it all together, somehow,” the vocalist-guitarist says with a laugh.

Inspired by shoegaze, post-punk, no-wave and other strands of rock, Honey’s Dead are now readying their debut EP Gone Today for a March release. Its title was given in memory of gig promoter and India’s indie champion Rishu Singh, and Kably says he’d rather let listeners figure out the record’s themes and the sonic directions.

Now joined by bassist Utkarsh Jaiswal (from hardcore band Pacifist and dreampop act Fox in the Garden), the band will return to the stage after more than two years to perform at crowdfunded music festival Control ALT Delete (CAD) in Mumbai this weekend. “We started rehearsals this week and it’s all sounding so sick […] I’m leaving the country for a bit after the CAD show, and also starting work on writing a full length. So not sure about a launch gig, but we should be doing some shows around April next.”

Listen to “Dreamer” below.