There’s a spud outside the box
outside the box Later this week, Alt Rock group Spud In The Box will turn aKhar nightspot inside out and introduce their debut album’s visual universe
THIS six- piece Alternative Rock band has had memorable gigs across India. Spud In The Box has played on massive stages with screaming fans, to intimate venues with attentive listeners. “ We’ve played on top of a sand dune outside 7 aisalmer for the Ragasthan Festival and at the launch of Pepsi MTV Indies where we collaborated with our favourite guitarist Blackstratblues,” says guitarist Siddharth Talwar.
Five is a charm Their music allows them to meet some talented people while travelling. “ Australian act 7 inja Safari told us at NH @ Weekender that they were fascinated with our bassist Zubin Bhathena’s name,” says drummer 7 oshua Singh. They’ve bumped into legendary 7 azz musician Herbie Hancock at a Buddhist prayer meeting, opened for Grammy Award- winner Norah 7 ones, and global ethno- trance group Hilight Tribe and collaborated with a host of Indian Indie heroes for the documentary Standing By. The band has gone beyond what most Indian bands can achieve in five years, except bringing out an album and doing a nationwide tour.
Debut- ready That’s about to change with their debut record Lead Feet Paper Shoes that released last week. It has a curious title and surrealist cover art. We caught them for a chat before they set out on the nationwide tour. Says Talwar, “ The songs on Lead Feet Paper Shoes were written over a span of two to three years, as is the case with most debut albums. But from early on, we knew that we wanted to put something together that felt like a holistic experience and not just a collection of songs.” Ask them about the inspiration, and Bhathena says, “ Our favourite records are ones that you can keep going back to and finding new things in, every time you listen to them.
That’s the aesthetic we looked to all Album cover of their
for inspiration.” “ With this in mind, the title had to work on a few different levels — represent where we are as a band, capture the feeling you get when you listen to the music, tell the story but still allow people to form their own opinions. Lead Feet Paper Shoes matched the criteria,” says vocalist Rajadhyaksha.
Live photo- story The album comes with a visual universe in the form of a photo- story that they’ve created in collaboration with photographer Parizad D and a team of artists. On September > A , apart from playing all the songs from the new album, they are attempting to turn antiSOCIAL Khar inside out and bring that universe to the venue.
“ We’re bringing a bunch of friends to help us deliver an audio- visual experience,” says guitarist Hartej Sawhney.
Layered sound The sound on Lead Feet Paper Shoes is layered, dynamic and wholesome.
Almost each song starts in one place and ends up somewhere different, sonically. “ Each song comes from a different experience, feeling or idea,” says Rajadhyaksha. Institute of Madness is about finding a balance between your internal and social self, Headrush is about addiction and denial, Paper Shoes is about exploring repressed feelings, while Until We Fall is their version of a = B ? < s Hollywood love song.
Strong together Ask them what’s the glue that holds them together, and Talwar says, “ We’re lucky to have support from our families.
We have a strong group around us whom we rely on for judgment, criticism and advice. We have the best fans; they’ve been patient, and some have braved hailstorms to come watch us play.” They don’t have a secret formula for staying afloat in the ephemeral independent scene. “ Despite whatever other odd jobs or commercial work we need to do on the side to keep afloat, we don't want to allow the music we make become an afterthought,” says vocalist and guitarist, Ankit Dayal.
their new release
