Long Distances Keep Indie Rock Alive with Debut EP

After bursting onto the scene in late 2022, Mumbai-bred act Long Distances has been steadily putting out singles off their debut EP How the Mighty Will Fall. Now, the band is out with all five tracks from the record. Comprising multi-instrumentalist Aarifah Rebello, and guitarists-producers Apurv Agrawal and Zubin Pastakia, the band have also been performing the material from the EP live.

When starting the band, Pastakia was told the kind of shoegaze and guitar-based music he wanted to make with Long Distances was “dead.” He says, “I really don’t think that’s the case at all. In fact, people really want more of that. The reaction to a lot of the singles and now the EP has been really positive and that feels good that people have connected with the music.”

Work on How the Mighty Will Fall kicked off in 2020 with Pastakia inviting people to make music with him. Agrawal initially came on board as a sound engineer for the group’s third single “Delicate Surrender” and says, “We had such a great time working on that song and generally making music together that it just kind of organically went from there to me working on the rest of the EP to now being part of the band.” Rebello adds, “With respect to writing and recording, there’s been a learning curve. Especially because we started remotely during the pandemic, so from figuring out DIY recording booths, and each other’s creative processes, to holding space for individual artistic expression while being able to consolidate all of that into one unit has been good learning!”

Overall, How the Mighty Will Fall is a tremendously well-written, recorded and engineered EP. The songs stand out with plenty of dynamism, catchy elements, hooky sections as well as contagious melodies. Indie rock lovers are sure to grasp onto this record for its well-crafted guitar-based tunes. Lyrically, Pastakia says, “[The EP is about] love, loss, lament and the longing for liberation. The stuff of life. We don’t write music to escape the world, but we are very much situated in the contemporary socio-technological context.”

The band were programmed to perform at last month’s Lollapalooza India as the opening act of the festival. However, due to technical glitches, they weren’t able to play out the full set that they prepared for. “We’ve been in touch with the organizers and have been offered a better slot next year in word, so we’ll be back even better,” says Pastakia.

Long Distances are currently gearing up for a gig in April at Mumbai’s G5A while also continuing to plot for more shows across India. The group has grown too with backing vocalist/synth player Gouri Ranjit, bassist Adil Kurwa and drummer Karun Kannampilly now joining the band. Pastakia says, “They’re absolutely fantastic musicians and good friends.” There’s also new material already in the works and Agrawal says, “It’ll be a different process [with new members] and we’re excited to see how that shapes new songs.” Rebello adds, “[We’re] honing in on who and what Long Distances is in its core with the whole band, we’re just going to keep on keeping on, wherever that takes us.”

Stream ‘How the Mighty Will Fall’ on Spotify below and on other platforms: