Grasshopper, a Mumbai-based experiential band, has just released its maiden album Mirrors Of The Mind . The album is said to be a mirror that will take the listeners on a journey to help them reflect and discover their inner self.
All’s in a name
The band name has an interesting story. It draws from the symbolism attached to the insect that can only leap forwards. This reflects the band’s constant endeavour to leap into the unknown.
The album’s cover photos seem to allude to Plato’s allegory of the cave, suggesting that the world outside the cave resides within one’s mind. The album art by artist Jonathan Key is a visual representation of the music and is an art in itself. The band believes that we all have some unhappiness in us. However society seems to have a ‘discomfort with discomfort’, forcing everyone to feign happiness.
Gaurav Shah, executive producer, composer and lead guitarist of the band, says his pursuit to form a band began in 2011, while interacting with musicians he could potentially work with on his concept album Machines’ . That’s how he met Rahul Singh, the owner of Orange Byte Studios and now also the band’s producer, engineer and keyboardist. Along came friend Amarpreet, and the trio worked on the musical and the lyrical structures of the songs in the album. In their search for musicians with similar style and sensibilities, they chanced upon drummer Gautum Deb, who introduced the team to Keshav Iyengar (bassist) and Suvir Singh (rhythm guitarist). In Bhaven Dhanak, the lead singer, the band has a singer who captures the essence of the album.
Shah advises against picking a favourite and adding it in isolation to a playlist. The album, he says, is supposed to be one cohesive listening experience. Terming the music ‘Cinematic Psychedelia’, Shah explains that the album is an imaginary film that unfolds in the listener’s mind; a journey that commences from the protagonist’s state of ‘deadweight’ that he articulates till he reaches what is reflected in the album’s final track, ‘Weightless’. The songs seamlessly flow into the next, with the psycho-acoustics giving enough pauses for the listeners to internalise the metaphorical lyrics. The psychedelia refers to giving the audience an altered experience by infusing atmosphere and space between notes, and subtle effects and sonic treatments that give a true-to-life experience.
Ready for collaboration
The band places itself in the gourmet / fine-dining space of the music industry and hopes to collaborate with like-minded artistes to create genre-defining work.
