The Cheeseball Giant Delivers A Scrumptious Debut EP

Mumbai multi-instrumentalist Joshua D’Souza has been honing his music chops since he was eight, whether its playing guitar, getting behind a drum kit or producing songs. He says, “I joined the True School of Music in 2017 where I learned a hell lot of music theory, which further helped me dive deeper into composing music.” The musician – who also drums for alt-rockers Tapas – has been moonlighting as The Cheeseball Giant writing his own material and putting together his debut release under that moniker since last year. Now, D’Souza is out with quite a delicious four-track EP titled Purple Martian Cupcakes.

Influenced by English bands such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen as well as singer-songwriters including John Mayer and Tom Misch, D’Souza began experimenting with ideas from all these artists and write material “in that realm.” He says, “That’s basically how the idea for this EP was born.”

The record opens with the pop-rock offering “Islands in the Sky” and features vocalist Kriselle Fernandes as well as D’Souza’s father Joe Peter who contributes a soaring guitar solo towards the end of the track. “It revolves around the idea of love, but love that you know you will never last or never find [like] the phrase ‘the one that got away.’” The instrumental funky track “Scarlett’s Pasta” features some juicy bass guitar parts and a scintillating guitar hook. “This is the first time I wrote and tracked guitars as a lead instrument,” says the artist.

The ballad “Fantasy” brings on singer Lisa Van’drine who weaves in stupendous lyrics over deft melodies while D’Souza gets behind the mic to spit bars. He says, “It talks about the idea of how everyone has an ideal type when it comes to having life partners, but they also know that it’s just impossible to find a person like that.” The EP closes with the soulful “All Is Fine?” and features Tapas’ bassist-vocalist Akhil Sindhwani singing about closure.

The majority of Purple Martian Cupcakes was recorded at the multi-instrumentalist’s home studio. Sindhwani contributed bass parts to the songs and even helped co-produce the record with D’Souza. The EP was then mixed and mastered by Dhaval Das. The Cheeseball Giant says, “He did a marvelous job.”

The lockdown has given D’Souza the opportunity to work on his skills as a musician, producer and songwriter as well as focus on his creative side in a more scheduled manner. At the moment, he’s collaborating with Sindhwani on a four-track experimental EP and is also putting in the groundwork for a full-length Cheeseball Giant record expected for next year. He says, “All in all this entire EP has been a fun and learning experience for me.”

Stream ‘Purple Martian Cupcakes’ on Spotify below and hear also hear it on Apple Music and YouTube.