Rock Band Naalayak Address Lineup Change, New EP ‘Round About’

At the start of the year, Chandigarh rock band Naalayak were in the midst of upheaval, with three out of four members exiting the band. While numerous claims and reasons were cited against frontman Sahil Samuel, he continued undaunted and recruited new members to release music and head back on the road to packed gigs in Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ranchi.

The current lineup includes guitarist Akash Maheshwari, bassist Ashish Dey and drummer Aditya Kamboj. Samuel says, “It’s been a joy ride touring with the new lineup. Despite the limited time to settle for the tour, we are buckled up to massively give it our best and conquer every stage.”

About the lineup change, while former band members are currently not speaking about it, the frontman looks back on it as an eventuality. “What is meant to happen will eventually happen. Simply to say, bands are ultimately meant to be broken in order to grow individually and make progress,” he adds. Samuel mentions that “faithful fans” know the truth and the rest may “remain a mystery”, but hits back against any accusations of bullying or songwriting credits and rights disputes with former members. “What I’ve been taught by my God, from the Bible, is to love and pray for my enemies. So, let me wrap it up with that,” he says.

For now, it’s full speed ahead for Naalayak, with the tour running parallel to the band’s releases, which include songs like “Kabhi Socha” and “Jeene Do” off the four-track EP Round About. Led by Samuel’s inimitable vocals, all the arrangements point to a spirited return to form for the rock band whose previous release was the 2021 album Hindi Gaane. With Round About, Samuel says he wanted to take on long-anticipated collaborations. The EP’s songs – “Kabhi Socha,” “Jeene Do,” “Wine Song” and “It’s Me” – are all helped by guitarist-producer Varun Murali, from Bengaluru folk-rockers Swarathma.

The tour will run into May and then work begins on their next album, titled Sexy Bhai Ji. “Naalayak will be taking a three-month break and continue the tour from September 2022,” Samuel adds. 

Naalayak performs on April 16th at Imperfecto Ruin Pub, New Delhi. Get tickets here. Listen to “Jeene Do” and “Kabhi Socha” below.