Premiere: Hotaru Offer Meditative Math-Rock on ‘Ubiquitous’

With the backdrop of the Karbi Heritage Museum and footage of flowers in bloom, rock duo Hotaru evoke a sense of nature and nostalgia on their second single “Ubiquitous.” Comprising guitarists Angthik Kro and The’ang Teron (from metallers Trancemigrate), Hotaru originally started out as a trio in mid-2020 from Diphu, Karbi Anglong in Assam.

The lilting, warm math-rock intricacy of “Ubiquitous” follows their prog-informed debut single “Mnemonic,” which released with a video in late 2020. A lot has changed since then, considering Teron came in following the exit of guitarist Anong Timung and drummer Longbamon Bey due to “creative differences,” as Kro mentions. He adds, “We are cousins. Since our childhood days, we never missed a chance to jam during our summer holidays. And later we did some collaborations and his enthused presence has sufficed. I dig the same music as my cousin, The’ang.”

Their latest single was written just earlier this month. “Rather than just finding a cool riff, we focused on finding the mood and jam along,” Kro adds. The guitarist explains that the instrumental song is written for nature. Hotaru reflects that in the music video, which features plenty of sunny shots and the hills of Karbi Anglong. Kro even gets to show off his guitar hero side for a few playful shots.

He adds, “I wanted the video to show the important aspects of life, observing and enjoying what the planet earth offers. You can see the fun we had shooting the video because everything was captured in real emotions. We chose an open space where we could experiment with wider shots, a fish-eyed lens etc. As a result, our shots will stand out more and be more original than just cramping into a living room.”

Watch the video for “Ubiquitous” below. The track will release on streaming platforms on March 31st.