New Music: From Delhi Experimental Rock to Chennai World/Electronica

“Not Yet Dinosaurs” by The Circus

Delhi experimental rockers The Circus did tell us that material from their upcoming third album With Love is nothing like their previous records, and the first earworm proves exactly that. “Not Yet Dinosaurs” features a looped tribal beat over vocalist Abhishek Bhatia’s modulated vocals that bursts into heavy riffage. Recorded at Studio Fuzz, With Love releases on March 2nd on studio’s own Honest Indian Recordings label, coinciding with their eight-city 2Stroke Tour.

“By Your Side” by Nishtha

From the Delhi-based Berklee graduate’s full-length album Minor Epiphany, it’s hard to believe Nishtha Sachdeva has been performing and writing music for a decade. Starting out as an 18-year-old songwriter, her first single and music video for “By Your Side” showcases a more mature side to Nishtha. The hooky, vocal-led pop song about “imagination at its best” when it comes to love. Minor Epiphany released on February 19th, and is available on OKListen.

“And We Burn With It” by Zokova

Delhi’s post-rock trio Zokova have been around for eight years now [on and off, considering guitarist-producer Ritwik De’s other projects such as electronica band Tankbund and acoustic band The Yellow Bucket]. But now with drummer Suyash Gabriel [from hardcore band Grammy Winning Effort] and bassist Amar Pandey [from psychedelic/funk band The Incredible Mindfunk] on board, Zokova have released a happy, melodic new track, in the vein of Irish instrumental rock band And So I Watch You From Afar. The song is part of Zokova’s upcoming interconnected 10-track full-length album.

Kural by Rini

Chennai-bred singer and violinist Harini S Raghavan has made her mark in New York so far, recording and performing with the likes of AR Rahman and Clinton Cerejo on tour, but her own influences come to the front with her debut five-track EP Kural, which means ”˜voice’ in Tamil. Raghavan jams on violins as well as electronic effects with a band setup backing her on songs such as “Thiruvizha” and “Fear.” Her latest video from the album is the title track, which is a groovy jazz-leaning fusion song about women’s rights.

 

“Luminescence” by ArrowBridge

Delhi’s prog metal scene doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down, with an increasing number of bands putting out material. The latest in the lot are ArrowBridge, who came together in 2014 and have released their debut single “Luminescence” off their upcoming album Sirius. Yes, it does sound like titles any other djent band would use, but the music, recorded by Delhi’s go-to producer Keshav Dhar [from prog metallers Skyharbor] at Illusion Audio, is groove goodness that clocks in at a surprisingly short 1:52 minutes, but still manages to make a mark.