Orange Street’s Anirban Chakraborty Picks His Favorites from the RS Polls

Anirban Chakraborty aka Bann in Mumbai in 2013. Photo: Jai Sangoi

We’re a week away from closing in on the 25 Greatest Indian Rock Songs of the Last 25 Years and we’re asking everyone to weigh in, including nominated artists. Delhi rock band Orange Street’s former vocalist Anirban Chakraborty aka Bann, who is also director at music magazine Rock Street Journal and based in Mumbai, spoke about a few of his favorites below.

Train of Thought (Attention Please, 2012) ”“ Spud In The Box

I feel very refreshing every time I hear anything by this band. The fact that they’re so young makes it amazing. It’s a great leap from what I had seen young bands do back when we started out.

Boitha Maro Re (The Story So Far, 2012) ”“ Papon

 

Papon and I have pretty much grown up together, although I’m a bit older than him. He’s got a great voice, he’s a great songwriter and a great person, above everything. Particularly, the music he writes is so universal. I’ve seen rock fans and metalheads say they love it, so I think anyone can like his music.

Set Me Free (Moving On, 2009) ”“ Soulmate

 

I’ve grown up watching Rudy [Wallang, guitarist]. I remember, as kids, we looked at him when he was on stage and thought there was something orgasmic going on. There’s such finesse in his work. And I don’t know any other female singer with the kind of potential that Tips [Tipriti Kharbangar, vocalist] has. It’s amazing that we can boast of a great blues band.

Hilltop (Sound Pad, 2009) ”“ Sky Rabbit

 

Here’s another young voice that I really dig. More than that, they have such beautiful words to their songs ”“ very profound, in their own way. Raxit [Tewari, vocalist] has such a distinct voice that will always stand out. You’ll hear Raxit’s voice and immediately know.

Zephyretta (Love.Hate.Heroes, 2009) – Them Clones

 

I love this song a lot. Even though it was on their album only recently, it’s quite an old song. I remember I heard the original version, which had a different vocalist. This was before Prithwish Dev [vocalist] joined. I liked that old version, but this one is great. I can tell you this, though, that it’s very different from what it was originally.

PSP (Hook, 2002) ”“ Zero

 

Orange Street and Zero are pretty much from the same generation of musicians. We had a different struggle, though. Back then, to play original music was sacrilege. When we announced that we would only play originals, we were banned for a year ”“ I mean, we didn’t get gigs for a year. Zero reinforced our statement and they had this legendary song. It’s a great feat. People know “PSP” word by word now.

The poll, is the first in a series which reaches out to critics, readers and industry experts, closes on December 15th.

Vote for your favorite bands here