Mali and Uddipan from Aswekeepsearching Announce Solo Tour

When post-rock band Aswekeepsearching’s frontman Uddipan Sarmah told us they’re all about minimalism these days, few would have expected him to go on and announce a solo set. With their third album Rooh set for a September release – and the title track out last week – Sarmah will head out on a seven-city tour playing minus the band, alongside Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Mali, starting August 16th in Bengaluru.

The Monsoon Tour heads to Kochi (August 24th), Hyderabad (August 25th), Mumbai (August 29th), Kolkata (August 30th), Guwahati (September 1st) and closes in New Delhi on September 4th. Sarmah promises downtempo, stripped-down versions of songs from Zia and Khwaab, which fans have seen in their post-rock glory for the past few years. He says about his setup, “I trigger stuff from my laptop and I also use an iPad. I use live guitars from my iPad and there’s vocal looping.”

Sarmah began playing the solo set as part of the ongoing Rooh listening sessions across the country, performing a handful of songs to fans in an intimate setting. “This is about taking the listener back to Zia and Khwaab,” he says.

Put together by artist and event agency BlueTree, Sarmah is joined by Mali, who’s promoting her latest single “Mango Showers” while also performing a somewhat rare solo set on keys and acoustic guitar. The sweeping string section-aided pop song is certainly going to sound different in a solo avatar, but Mali says she knew “Mango Showers” would be reimagined for shows. She says, “I’m going to play a keys and vocal version – I’m figuring out a darker piano version of this song which I think sounds cool.”

Joining Uddipan on tour was a no-brainer for Mali, who says, “He pitched it to me and said, ‘How about we do this tour together since you have a solo set and I have a solo set?’ She adds with a laugh, “I was happy because I don’t have to lift a finger, to make calls or do bookings. I blindly said yes.”

BlueTree presents Monsoon Tour ft Mali x Uddipan

August 16th – The Courtyard, Bengaluru (tickets here)

August 24th – Nosh Haus, Kochi (tickets here)

August 25th – The Moonshine Project, Hyderabad (tickets here)

August 29th – Fun Republic Social, Mumbai (tickets here)

August 30th – TopCat CCU, Kolkata (tickets here)

September 1st – Urban Mantra, Zoo Road, Guwahati (tickets here)

September 4th – The Finch, New Delhi (tickets here)

Watch the video for “Rooh” by Aswekeepsearching below.