Exclusive Stream: Bengaluru Act Space Is All We Have’s Arena-Ready Debut Album

It was in 2016 that Bengaluru ambient/electronic rock band Space Is All We Have started work on their debut album Thank You, Universe! and it came on the back of winning several college competitions and pooling all their winnings into recording with ace producers like Vivek Thomas in Kochi and Keshav Dhar (from prog band Skyharbor).

Guitarist Shashank Akella admits that they’re not an “easy” band to work with and found the seasoned recording engineers to be patient with them. By the time this album was ready, Space had undergone a handful of lineup changes, tracking and re-tracking of instruments and working out of different cities. “There was no real sense of time or deadline among us — just the idea that we had to release it by the end of the year,” he says.

Come November and Thank You, Universe! is in fact ready for release and is exclusively streaming below, a day ahead of its release on November 11th. Featuring lead guitarist Krishna M. Sujith, keyboardist Yogeendra Hariprasad, vocalist Shiyasz Abdul and bassist Kashyap Jois, Space originally had Daniel Ancheril tracking drums for the album, while Dev RK is their current drummer. The nine-track album opens up the cinematic, sprawling world of the band, who pull their weight on arena-ready songs like “Craters,” “Indigo!” and “She’s From Venus.”

The album is also punctuated by several ambient movements, heard on “Blackhole Paradise: Pt I” and the title track, which is a wholly instrumental, orchestral piece that closes the album. Akella agrees that they’re most hyped to see how the title track and “Keepsake” will be received. “We’re even releasing a video for ‘Keepsake’ after the album launch and when we tell you we’re eager to know how it’ll be received, we’re just hoping that people find it as comforting and emotional as we did,” the guitarist says.

Additionally, the band also called on producer Synths Back to remix “She’s From Venus” for the album. Sujith says about the decision, “We’re also reaching out to a different audience through this at the same time there’s a weird sense of thrill of getting an electronic producer to give us his take on one of our rock songs. We intend to do more collaborations and remixes in the future as well.”

With Thank You, Universe! out now, the band are focusing on future material, which Sujith says puts the spotlight on “direct and in your face” lyrics penned by vocalist Shiyasz Abdul. The guitarist adds, “This time around we’re putting more emphasis on the lyrical content rather than the music being the center of songwriting.”

Listen to ‘Thank You, Universe!’ below. The album is out on all streaming platforms on November 11th.