Premiere: Hear a Vibrant Border Free Jam from Honey Musket, Brahma and GrooveYard

At the western music society of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, producer Kushal Gaikwad aka Honey Musket, bassist Sourya Mukerhjee aka GrooveYard and vocalist Brahmarshi Kar aka Brahma met for the first time around five years ago.

Following jam sessions and general chilling, the musicians went on to form their own identities as artists and pursued day jobs, but remained in touch. Early this year, they released their first collaboration together called “Test Drive,” a funky electronic jam that’s buoyed by Brahma’s silken vocals. But it turns out that before “Test Drive,” the trio had already began working on “Be Mine,” which is now released as their second song together. They answer over a collective email interview, “We weren’t quite sure of how the overall sound of ‘Be Mine’ should be [back then]. It is a little ahead of the pop/R&B curve with obvious electronic influences from the new wave of music.”

While all three musicians have been based in Mumbai, Gaikwad also calls Bengaluru his home, while Mukherjee and Kar hail from Kolkata. So it’s not just the quarantine effect that’s led to the video for “Be Mine” being three different frames put together, but also just by virtue of working on music remotely. They call it “long distance musicianship,” adding that modern technology’s collaborative tools help creatively too. “We really believe that if artists are aligned creatively and have a collaborative mindset , distance should not be a showstopper.”

The song comes right after Honey Musket’s debut 2019 EP Bedroom Chef and his recent singles “Let’s Just Stay Inside.” GrooveYard’s bass duties for rock bands such as Celestial Teapot, Daira and Blakc keep him busy (there’s a new project called DefGiant releasing material as well). “Brahma is set to release a music video for his new single ‘Travellers’ with Bunty Band Wale – a progressive rock outfit based out of different cities,” the collective says. With Honey Musket’s second EP also in the works, the trio assures there will be more music from them soon.

Watch the video for “Be Mine” below.