New Music: From Delhi Electronica to Mumbai Experimental Rock

“Crux.Frix” by Mode.AKA

It’s been about a year since Bengaluru electronica act Mode.AKA made their debut on a Bollywood soundtrack, featuring on the thriller film Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Although their new single “Crux.Frix” was written in 2015, it’s out only now. It has rap verses from producer Manas Ullas decrying corruption in Bengaluru over a dragging heavy industrial rock beat which gives way to a relaxed hip hop groove intermittently. “Crux.Frix” is rightly dedicated to the “crooks and the freaks”.

“State of Emergency” by Within Ceres

Goa-based prog metal band Within Ceres are led by guitarist and producer Odin de Sa, who is also part of experimental metallers Feeding In Atlantis. While we haven’t heard much from FIA, de Sa channels that influence for Within Ceres’ new single “State of Emergency,” off their upcoming album Skyless. In addition to catchy melodic metal, the band’s debut single includes a nu-metal bridge and chaotic modern metal riffage.

Requiem by When Pandas Attack

Delhi-based producer Ankur Chauhan aka When Pandas Attack’s new EP Requiem is dense and dreamy in equal parts. The opening track “Push It” includes glitchy vocal samples while “We Could” has the bright enthusiasm of chillwave. The EP closes with the dark ambient “Tainted” that Chauhan constructs into a made-for-clubs bass banger.

On Silver Clouds by Lawntuba

Combining pop, neo-psychedelic and rock, Mumbai experimental act Lawntuba offer drifting, shifting weird old music on their debut EP On Silver Clouds. Excluding the interlude on the five-track EP, Lawntuba ”“ comprising guitarist-vocalist Siddhant Vernekar and producer, bassist and guitarist Krishna Purohit [aka Braja Jana] ”“ take the best parts of psychedelic acts such as Animal Collective and add their own touch to it, be it sunny acoustic [“Sunlight Surprise”] or dancey pop [“Niah Tells Me”].

MonoHive Sessions ft Abhijeet Tambe and Tony Das

In March, vocalist-guitarist Abhijeet Tambe [from Bengaluru post-rock band Lounge Piranha] debuted new solo material at an intimate show. Now with veteran guitarist Tony Das [from multilingual rockers Peepal Tree] adding electric textures and the occasional lead and backing vocals over Tambe’s acoustic guitars, the duo performed as part of Bengaluru video performance series, MonoHive, hosted by the music blog of the same name. Check out four of Tambe’s melancholic, introspective songs.