New Delhi Indie-Rock Duo Curtains Explore Self Discovery on Debut Album ‘Pages of My Memory’

After meeting on a school trip in the 10th grade, New Delhi musicians Prakhar Yadav and Dev Bhardwaj began jamming together. What started as just an after-school activity is now their indie-rock duo called Curtains. In 2018, the pair began uploading covers as well as their own material on YouTube. Now, Curtains is out with their full-length eight-track bilingual debut album entitled Pages of My Memory.

According to the band, an album was always on the cards ever since they began writing music together. Bhardwaj says, “We actually tried to do a compilation album first but that proved unsuccessful because of our newfound fear of not getting into a college. After getting into the same college, we started working on new projects.” Meeting like-minded individuals at their college helped Curtains find navigate where they wanted to go as a band. Yadav says, “We finally had a specific direction in mind in terms of sound.” Bhardwaj adds, “This has been literally three years in the making, taking shape and changing as we ourselves grew as artists.”

The Hindi and English songs on Pages of My Memory are largely focused on the idea of self-discovery, according to Yadav. He says, “This is brought out either in a direct sense or through the feelings of self-doubt and anxiety. The album references the transience of time and relationships in each track. The lyrical content was inspired through our own experiences of transitioning into adulthood.” Sonically, the record covers rock, pop, trip-hop and even electronica sounds. There’s crafty rhythmic work across the album as well as dynamic vocals that make for a pleasing listen. Curtains also call on collaborators such as musicians Kevin Verghese and Gayatri Deepak on record closers “Manzar” and “Pages II.”

The duo recorded the entire album at their home studios. Yadav handled production duties and also mixed and mastered the record. With limited equipment at their disposal, Curtain found ingenious ways of tracking the LP. Some instances found them creating a mic booth using heavy blankets to block outside noise and tracking vocals and acoustic guitars late at night which made for a more recording-friendly environment. Yadav says, “I also remember hating recording in summers because we had to turn off the AC again and again since they were loud as hell.”

Curtains aren’t the type to sit around after a release, the duo are already writing new material for a follow-up. “Going forward, I hope we keep bringing out the best in each other and keep making music together,” says Bhardwaj. 

Stream ‘Pages of My Memory’ on Spotify below and on other platforms.