Gig Preview: Electro Rap Outfit Subsystem to Release their Debut EP

Subsystem/Credits: courtesy of the artist

The emerging hip-hop culture in India gets a welcome boost with Mumbai-based, electro-garage rap outfit, Subsystem about to release their debut EP Breakneck Boogie. Subsystem consists of rappers Ronit Sarkar and Andrew Ferreira on vocals and Adith Anande on the sampler. The band was founded in 2014 when Sarkar, who otherwise works as a freelance photographer, met Ferreira, a student at Xavier’s Institute of Communications at a party. Says Anande, “Ronit was planning to collaborate with Andrew as Awkward Bong, his solo, singer-songwriter project. A week later, Andrew called up Ronit saying he wants to start a three-piece rap band. They met me the next day and together we wrote a song on a beat snippet that I had made before. Though the first track never made it to any gig, it started a consistent flow of writing and producing, which became Subsystem.”

Still new to the scene, the trio feels that their biggest challenge is to get gigs since hip-hop is still not as popular in India as rock or dance music and it is tough to convince organizers and venue managers. “Although we are a hip-hop dominant outfit, our sound is not limited to the usual spaces that the genre is known for. We’re still working on our sound, but we’re not so fussed about it,” says Sarkar.

The band will release Breakneck Boogie at Hard Rock Café, Andheri on February 19th, 2015. Delhi-based, electronic rock duo FuzzCulture will also perform at this show.

Watch the video for their track “Speak” here: