Exclusive Stream: The Derelicts From Kochi Dance Away Uncertainties on ‘Happy Sad’

Fresh from an arm injury that prevented Ashwin Nath from playing synth for a year, the keyboardist also had to step down from performing with folk rock band Thakara. “Thankfully, I found four people as derelict as I was,” Nath says with a laugh about putting together The Derelicts in Kochi.

Comprising bassist Sreekanth Bhasi (Nath’s bandmate in Thakara), guitarist Sabarish Menon and drummer Biju Karthik, The Derelicts started out as Nath’s solo project in 2016, after he had spent four years getting into music after dropping out of his “depressing” life as a chartered accountant. But then, he played synth and has a major disco music fixation, which resulted in the band sounding as vibrant as they do on their debut single “Happy Sad.” He says about the song that takes its title from the themes of 2016 film Sing Street, “It’s melancholic lyrics set to happy music.”

Their upcoming EP, which will release in a couple of months, is a snapshot of their journey from starting out with alt-rock influences to completely leaning into electronic music. “There’s a funky, Eighties pop sound,” Nath says of another song called “Jennifer.”

Recorded by ace producer Vivek Thomas and released via Overfeed Records (run by Kerala alt rock frontrunners Black Letters), The Derelicts are now set for a month and a half on the road through South India in April and May. Nath says, “We have a couple of shows in Kerala on the line. The colleges are a lot more welcoming here now, but we also want to play in Bengaluru or Mumbai, where people are into all kinds of music.”

Listen to “Happy Sad”