Hear Chennai Indie Rock Band PA System’s Synth-Laden New Song ‘Gone Away’

Ideas of escapism through music and taking circumstances in one’s stride fuel Chennai indie band PA System’s shimmering new single “Gone Away.”

The bittersweet, dreamy song is the fifth track off their debut album Strangers Down the Hall, which is being released in a piecemeal fashion after songs like “Black & Blue,” “Oasis,” “In The Breeze” and “Didn’t Mean a Thing.” Staying true to friendly pop-rock influences, “Gone Away” is driven by nostalgic synth lines and a keyboard solo from Ashwin Iyer. Drummer Arvind Krishnan says, “For ‘Gone Away,’ we were really inspired by the synth pop sounds of the Seventies and Eighties, and we’ve tried to capture that sonic aesthetic with this single. It’s got a great groove and a laid-back vibe, which surely adds to the variety in our album.”

Where they’ve previously managed to shoot performance videos for their songs, “Gone Away” is the first animated clip for PA System, created by Pooja Sreenivasan. Vocalist Pratyush Shankar says they discussed the gist of the song’s lyrics and character ideas with the band’s creative director Pooja Shankar. “They made a story board for Pooja Sreenivasan so she could start working  on the sketches. We are extremely happy with the final look of the animated video that [was] created,” the vocalist adds.

Although they’re not yet ready to give away the title of the next single off Strangers Down the Hall, bassist Prashanth Venkat describes the forthcoming release as “a unique one.” He adds, “It is similar in terms of a singer-songwriter setting but its treatment is what sets it apart.”

Watch the video for “Gone Away” below. Stream on more platforms here.