Jekyll & Hyde To Release Debut EP In January

Bengaluru garage rockers Jekyll and Hyde

Bengaluru garage rock band Jekyll & Hyde who got together in 2009 as “just another college band” have stayed away from college competitions this year. This worked out just fine, since the band landed some big stage gigs including Harley Rock Riders and The Great Indian Octoberfest. Their next, at the grand finale of Converse’s hunt for the Original Band, which is their debut gig in Mumbai.

Lead guitarist Kaushik Shekar says, “It’s not even about the competition but one of the reasons we took part in Converse The Original Band competition is because the finals were in Mumbai.” Coming up after their Mumbai gig is the release of their yet-to-be-titled four-track EP in January. The EP contains the band’s newer songs that showcase their heavy, catchy garage punk tunes such as “Sweet Lovin’,” “Not Alone,” “Nevermore” and “POP.” The band’s vocalist Anant Sharma was unaware of “Nevermore” also sharing its name with the American heavy metal band. Says Shekar, “Anant didn’t know and didn’t care that it was also the name of another band, so we stuck by it. Coincidentally, it’s also one of our heaviest songs.”

The EP is currently being mixed by producer Anupam Roy, who is better known for mixing albums by metal bands such as Bhayanak Maut and Scribe, as well as rock bands such as The Circus. “We found that he was the most experienced and really liked his work,” says Shekar of Roy.

Jekyll & Hyde’s 40-minute set at the grand finale will include songs old and new, including “Two Timing Bitch,” “Eastside Man,” “POP,” and a possible cover of Brit alt punk band Arctic Monkeys’ “The View From The Afternoon.”

Jekyll & Hyde perform at Converse The Original Band Hunt Grand Finale on December 16th at Bandra Amphitheater along with Ganesh Talkies, Thikscinned and The Koniac Net. Veteran rock band Parikrama will headline the show. Entry free. Event details here.

Watch a teaser performance from Jekyll & Hyde ahead of their Mumbai gig here