teamix #10 - June 2019: Give us a read, go on
Them, he, she, a, cat, come one, come all,
In an interesting turn of events, I (Suchet) am back in Bangalore for good, so anyone reading this and in Bangalore, hmu and let's hang out again! In other news, Rohit is busy with work, so basically the same old news :P
This last week has been insane for a couple of reasons though. Champions league finals happened, and Liverpool won their first CL title since 2005. For newer (plastic, apparently is the right term) fans like me, that's an incredible event, but for those who've been fans for a while now, this victory was a HUGE thing and some of my friends got really emotional, it was damn wholesome :')
GUESS WHO WENT FOR SKRAT & THE F16S & MADBOY?? It was me, ya boy Suchet. And let me tell you one thing if it is the last thing you read here, it was mind-blowing. Rohit also went for Pineapple Express and I should probably leave it to him to talk about it. I'm still too psyked about the gig I went for to properly describe his experience. I also got a photograph with Sriram TT so I guess I can die peacefully now <3
While I (Rohit), happened to go watch Pineapple Express play at the Get Bent gig in Bombay and man was it good to see a Bangalore band after so long. Got to meet the band too and had a lot of fun that night. I also happened to discover a really cool game called Cards vs Sanskaar (Indian version of Cards against Humanity) which we keep playing at our house parties. I'm also going to be at Red Bull Spotlight this week to support my homeboy Vaibhav Somani in the finals. If anyone is in Bombay this Thursday and wants to have a good time, just buy a ticket and come on down.
Playlist on Spotify • Playlist on YouTube
Bandeh - Indian Ocean
Album: Black Friday (2004)
One of the greatest and oldest rock bands in India, this fusion folk-rock act out of Delhi is famous for not only being calm and enticing but also for having a very well educated bass player (St. Stephans, IIT Kanpur, and Cornell University, oof). This song was used as the title track for the movie Black Friday, as Indian Ocean has very strong protest-oriented themes behind their music. They blend rock, jazz, folk music and fusion with themes like spiritualism, activism, environmentalism and the futility of war and mythology. This song, in particular, is a request to humanity to stop its violence on any type. If you ever get a chance, go watch them live you will not be disappointed (We say this often don't we? XD But it's always true)
Chetana - Peepal Tree
Album: Chetana (2018)
This supergroup from Bangalore consisting of members from Bhoomi and The Raghu Dixit Projects and have been actively working together on independent projects for a while now before coming together to work on this one. This band tries to blend Kannada, Hindi, and Tamil with rock music and their experiences from Bhoomi and The Raghu Dixit Projects surely helps them achieve it. This song, in particular, is the opening track of their EP with the same title. It talks about letting your spirit be free and is inspired by a poem by the famous Kannada poet Kevempu. It features such a simple chorus that just sticks with you. You can also get the heavy influence of Carnatic musical elements in the song and overall it's just a beauty to enjoy. We apologize in advance if the chorus gets stuck in your head all day. - Rohit
The part about the chorus getting stuck in your head is really true, I've had it stuck in mine for a while now. It's an incredibly powerful line too, if you decide to translate it and check for yourself. Especially in the context of this track. The instrumental backing to it gives that ethereal feeling as well. - Suchet
Nannuflay - Tinariwen, Kurt Vile, Mark Lanegan
Album: Elwan (2017)
One of our favorite bands which I discovered off one of The Humming Tree gig posters. Another band I greatly regret missing out on live. This Tuareg bands play a very sub-Saharan rock-blue which communicates a variety of moods. The band from Mali has faced a lot of issues with political unrest back home but have always managed to overcome everything and put some amazing music out. This song is a shimmering blues track about the emptiness of the desert. You feel like you are in a trance, with the music and the call and respond vocals transporting you to a traveling caravan in the Sahara desert. The album in a whole speaks of a land that can no longer be found, with nostalgia for a joyous past and sadness for the tragic loss of territory. Personally, I am a huge fan of the band and cannot wait to go watch them live.
Que Beleza - Tim Maia
Album: Racional Vol. 1 (1974)
This artist is known for bringing the R&B flavor to Brazil and influencing the creation of African music influenced local stuff. He was always known as a heavy user of drugs which is evident in his slightly psychedelic music. Here he looks at just generally celebrating life and uses tropical brass sounds, some great percussion, and funky guitar licks. You can find a heavy samba-reggae influence in this song which is just an overall enjoyable track which makes you feel like being in the streets of Rio during the carnival time.
Lagan Laagi Re - Maatibaani, Mooralala Marwada
Album: The Music Yantra: Season 1 (2018)
Nirali Karthik and Karthik Shah together form this fusion act which happens to be one of the most exciting prospects in world and global fusion music. Their tracks generally have a very classical vocal background with a very jazzy, upbeat instrumental soundscape. This album in particular features artists from 20 countries. This song features artists who perform in the NYC subway and boy oh boy is it a treat to listen. True to their musical background it features a very Indian vocal soundscape filled with Jazz and upbeat instrumental landscape with the NYC subway as the background for it. Can't wait to listen to them live.
P.S. - If anyone is wondering what that insane odd whooshing/whistling instrument in the background is, or if you've watched the video and are wondering how the lady with the metal sheet is making music, check out this link! Apparently, it is called a Musical Saw, and the lady, Natalia Paruz is an absolute beast with it.
Teamix is something the both of us really enjoy doing and just find a little difficult to accommodate into our schedules but this isn't just about the two of us. We literally depend on your feedback to know how the newsletter is going and we'd love to hear what you think about it! Just take a few minutes of the endless Instagram scroll and just hit one of us up and tell us what you think or maybe even say hi? We are great people to chat with too :P Here are our Instagram handles: @rohit_mathew & @iyer.suchet!
If someone has not said this to you yet, we always recommend a comfortable chair, a nice buddy and a steaming cup of chai to pair with teamix, thank you all and see you in two weeks!
Rohit & Suchet
