Lounge Piranha is a force unto itself. So you can imagine how Chennai responded, when word spread that Lounge was coming to Chennai for another Unwind gig — Emancipate. Three bands took centre stage last week at Adyar, including Lounge Piranha; Madras Christian College's Blacklisted – fresh after hauling a win at NLS Banglore's Strawberryfields; and Sulk Station, a two member Trip Hop act based in Chennai.
The bands
Let me begin with a warning: Sulk Station is THE band to watch out for. Tanvi Rao and Rahul Giri will hypnotise you into thinking you've passed on to heaven unnoticed and untouched.
Their trippy debut songs ‘Bindya' and ‘Wait' are an ode to the genre that has it roots in Bristol, UK. Tanvi's voice had me melting in my boots.
My mind protested, but the senses left paralysed, were powerless to obey. This band, only four months old was recently nominated at the TFA 2010 Music awards and I highly recommend visiting their page on Facebook for a taste of their sound.
Blacklisted needs no introduction. This 4 + 1 member band comprising Niranjan, Abhinav (Booby), Samudra and Ritwik, as well as their part-time vocalist Preetham has bagged almost every college level cultural they've contested, which now stands at nine, as well as second place at Chennai Sangamam, not counting the several individual awards for best guitarist, dummer, bassist, vocalist, etc. It's hard to believe they still haven't recorded a single song, nor have they been wrapped up by any of the labels, given that they've constantly opened for top bands from all over India and have a loyal fan following like few others in this business. Their music is heavily inspired by acts like Rage Against the Machine, Sound Garden, Alice in Chains and over time have perfected their act to a tee.
This band actually started off as a side project for another popular band called ‘Substance' but have taken off and found success everywhere they've gone. Last but not the least, Lounge Piranha — the band from Bangalore that brings with them not just fine music and ingenuity, but also a sense of humour that the audience actually appreciates. Formed in 2005, this Post-rock band isn't afraid to experiment with new sounds and instruments, and it is this very element that makes them brilliant. Their ambient tunes are intricately layered and have since become part of the staple Chennai music diet.
George, Kamal, Abhijeet and Rohan released their first album, “Going Nowhere” to wide acclaim and received a four rating by Rolling Stone Magazine. Lounge's visual set-up was noticeably missing at Unwind's gig, which made a world of a difference, but either way the audience never complained, even in oven-like conditions. Everyone was just pleased to be in the presence of awesomeness.
Varun is a III Year student of B.Sc. Visual Communication at Madras Christian College.
