This Kochi band had Chennai bouncing on its feet

Kochi band When Chai Met Toast had Chennai bouncing to its peppy tunes over the weekend

You know that scene in coming-of-age movies where the lead finally figures out what she wants and sets out to conquer the world, filling the audience with hope? That's the atmosphere the Kochi band, When Chai Met Toast, set during its performance at Phoenix MarketCity, Velachery.

The band made waves with its breakout hit ‘Firefly’ in 2016 and more recently, last year with their neon pop art video for the single, ‘Fight’. Both were naturally included in the 18-song set the band played. They also played the theme song of the cartoon, Scooby Dooby Doo . However, what one didn't see coming was ‘Believe’ and ‘Remember’, both slated to release in July-August this year. It is the first time ‘Remember’ is being played before a live audience.

The songs take a different route from the peppy upbeat music, which is the band’s signature style. “‘Believe’ is about finding the light at the end of the tunnel,” says Ashwin Gopakumar, frontman and vocalist. The song resonates in particular with the drummer Sailesh Pai.

“It’s about fighting depression, and that hits home,” he says. Despite starting out mellower than usual, with lyrics like

“ Khwabon ko kyun baandhe naseeb’, the drums kick in to lift up the soul of the song as if providing a vent for your frustrations. ‘Remember’, on the other hand, is quietly hopeful with gentle strumming and no drums, letting the vocals lead the way.

Given the use of the banjo, When Chai Met Toast often gets compared to Western folk rock bands such as Mumford and Sons. Does that cramp their individual style? “We have our influences, but people make that judgement after listening to only three of our songs.” This rings true especially when they play ‘Moped and Superman’ — the band’s first song — which has jazzy undertones. “We have started looking for people to collaborate with now,” reveals guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal.

Signature move

For every performance, Gopakumar had his trademark black bowler hat on. “It's to hide my balding head,” he jokes. Self-proclaimed “Joker of the Band”, Gopakumar bounces around the stage resembling a bearded Bruno Mars. When he sings, he eyes are closed and hands outstretched, as if pleading to someone in the audience. On guitar and banjo with a handsome mop of curly hair is Achyuth Jaigopal. Barely 21, he is also a part of the Raghu Dixit Project.

“Achyuth is the cute boy of the band. Whoever meets him wants to adopt him,” says Gopakumar. Palee Magic Francis, on the keyboard, is a multi-instrumentalist responsible for the first production of the songs the band makes. “He makes the magic happen,” says Jaigopal. Drummer Pai, unlike the rest of the band, seems to lose himself in his music when on stage. The rapport between the four reflects in their performances. “Our first concert was also in Chennai and that was easily the worst. We were just getting to know each other’s styles then,” says Gopakumar.

At the end of the show, the band gave away framed album art for its first LP, Joy of Little Things . Though only five lucky members of the audience got it, everyone went home humming, ‘What a beautiful world’.