Hear New Delhi Band Zyakuni In My Backyard’s Summery Pop with Debut Song ‘Parking Lot’

A story of love and companionship form the basis of New Delhi band Zyakuni in My Backyard’s debut single “Parking Lot,” written in September last year even as the six members were eagerly waiting to regain gigging and jamming momentum.

Founded by vocalist and songwriter duo Anushka Datta and Shraddha Jennifer Singh in 2012 when they were studying in the seventh standard, Zyakuni in My Backyard (ZIMB) was more rounded off by 2019. Datta says, “That was when we started getting serious about getting our material released.” By 2020, they had brought in guitarist Saarah Roy, bassist Aradhya Khurana and already had a trusty rhythm section with drummer Aman Massih and keyboardist Noel Sakhi.

Although they’ve had more of a presence online as well as in the Delhi NCR live circuit for covers, Singh mentions that the band is focused on their upcoming five-track self-titled EP. “For interaction and just for fun, we’ve uploaded covers but our main goal has been to write and put out original music,” she adds.

Their debut song evokes a warm indie-pop sound, complete with twinkly guitar work and bittersweet vocal melodies shared between Singh and Datta. ZIMB – whose name is an amalgamation of Singh’s username Zyakuni and Datta’s handle Zombieinmybackyard – worked with New Delhi producer Rijul Singh to record their EP. Khurana says, “I think the pandemic was the force, that pushed us into the studio to record. Rijul helped us realize our music in a much more vivid way and think in a way that was slightly different.”

Although “Parking Lot” and their choice of covers reveal a proclivity for pop, ZIMB have a lot more sonic diversity to show. Khurana is into metal, jazz, R&B and played on “Disengage” by prog artist Yatin Srivastava Project, while Sakhi, Massih and Roy iterate that none of their music tastes conform. “All of us have pop in common,” Sakhi adds. Roy, a fingerstyle guitarist, says he does listen to pop but leans toward alt-rock. “When it comes to the band, we’re not confined to any one genre. It’s really fun to mess around. I grew to compose more stuff with the band,” the guitarist adds.

Khurana says there’s even a punk rock edge to one of their songs, like “Eliza’s Cure.” Datta meanwhile confirms there will be a music video coming out from the EP, with the full record releasing by December.

Listen to “Parking Lot” below. Stream on more platforms here.