Song Premiere: Mad Orange Fireworks ”“ “Feet Ain’t Moving”

Mad Orange Fireworks: (L-R) Michael Dias, Ramanan Chandramouli, Kaushik Kumar and Deepak Raghu.

Vocalist-guitarist Michael Dias has had songs for his new album in his head for as long as seven years. He’s also harbored a desire to put them down on record, play them live and take them on the road. Now, two and a half years since he formed Bengaluru rock band, Mad Orange Fireworks, he’s chuffed to talk about the band’s debut full-length album, Lifeline Cast. In fact, the band, comprising guitarist Ramanan Chandramouli and bassist Kaushik Kumar, had enough material for an album within two months of forming, informs Dias. 

There’s a mix of emotionally-heavy tracks such as “On the Ledge,” which Dias wrote while he helped an ailing friend recuperate and tracks in the lighter vein, like “Empty Saturday,” about working a six-day week [Dias works at the Bengaluru-based music school Taaqademy teaching guitars and vocals] Says Dias, “I personally don’t mind working on Saturdays; it’s most peaceful.” Then there’s the funk rock jam “Feet Ain’t Moving,” [stream below] in which Dias tells us why he’s never been able to cut a rug on the dancefloor. Indeed, in terms of sound, Mad Orange Fireworks categorize themselves as Orange Rock, a mix of jazz, funk, pop and rock, described by a color that the band relates to.  Says Dias, “It’s not some fairytales [we’re singing about], it’s about the choices we’ve made in life. The album isn’t about showing off skill, but about deeply-written lyrics, and then having music added to it.”

Mad Orange Fireworks recorded Lifeline Cast in April at Bengaluru’s Audio Academy, founded by sound engineer Niranjan Shivaram as an institute/recording space early this year. The band took it one weekend at a time, which is why, Dias explains, it took until August to release the album. “Our drummer Shravan [Bendapudi] left last month because he was really tied up with work, so we’ve got Deepak Raghu [drummer with sludge band Shepherd and stoner/doom band Bevar Sea] to replace him,” says Dias, adding that Bendapudi will join the band to jam on a couple of songs at their album launch gig on August 2nd.

Aside from playing Lifeline Cast in its entirety at their launch gig, the band will also start shooting a music video starting Monday for their song, “Confusing State.” He drops no hints about the concept behind the video, but does mention that the song is about quarter-life crisis. “That’s what everyone in the band is going through,” says Dias.

Listen to “Feet Ain’t Moving” here.

Mad Orange Fireworks performs at the Humming Tree on August 2nd, 2013. Free entry. Event details here.