Artist: Siddharth Basrur
EP: Chasing Rain Chapter 1
Released on: February, 2013
Produced by: Ayan De
Siddharth Basrur, one of the most versatile vocalists in the Indian music scene at this moment. He has covered almost every genre from Blues to Metal, and needless to say he passed all the tests with flying colours. Better known as the vocalist of his band Goddess Gagged, who recently opened for Guns n Rosesand Monuments, Siddharth Basrur has been working on a 3 part solo album series. The first of these – Chasing Rain Chapter 1 was released on 16th February and it is about getting a girl. The formula has worked for him, and hopefully some of the romeos can learn a thing or two from him too 😉
The track listing for the EP is as follows:
- In Between feat. Devesh Dayal
- Rain
- Stay
- Lifting the Veil
- Battleships feat. Naina Kundu
I was really excited when I was offered to review the album. I missed his performance in Storm Festival, which I was dying to attend. So there was a lot of excitement building up just before he released the EP. In fact I bugged him a couple of times via facebook for the EP(It’s part of my job though, bugging every artist for their EP/album so that I can review it). Finally after I received the EP, I decided to take some time out and review it carefully so that I don’t mess it up. And trust me, I’ll cherish every moment of that time spent listening to this EP.
The ambience in all of the songs has to be mentioned first. Being a professional, like Mr. Basrur is, you just have to expect the right blend of feeling and soul in the songs. Every song has its own beauty and is different in its own right. Starting off with In Between; featuring the teenage guitar hero – Devesh Dayal from Goddess Gagged and Workshop, this track grows on you and by the time it reaches the first chorus, you’ll be in love with it. The ambience created is commendable and one just can’t ignore Devesh’s blazing guitar solo. As I have mentioned before, the tracks are totally different from each other. No song feels like a continuation of any other songs. Best example – Rain and Battleships. Rain is more of a Blues oriented track with a nice fell throughout and great harmonica fillers in between. Battleships on the other hand features, sensational Naina Kundu on the vocals along with Siddharth. The track has a nice old school Jazz-Blues feel, with terrific bass lines throughout the song. If you know me, you would know about my weakness for a nice bass line in a song. And the whole album doesn’t disappoint me when it comes to that area. Right from the ambient In Between to the gloomy ballad Stay and easy listening Lifting the Veil, each track has some killer bass lines that would melt your soul and take you to a different dimension.
Regardless of what your music preference is, this album is surely going to make you tap your feet and fall in love with it. I’m now eagerly waiting for the second and third part of this series and if this is a sign of things that are in store for us, I can very well say that the wait would be worth every second of it.
Great things in life always drop unannounced, and then gradually worm their way into your consciousness. The little things in life are the ones that stick to our memory, like drawing abstract figures on rain soaked window panes. These trivial excursions resonate in our memory, because they don’t bog us down with unnecessary details. This underlying simplicity is what characterises Siddarth Basrur’s new album Chasing Rain – Chapter 2.
Siddarth is also the front-man for the Mumbai based progressive post-hardcore band ‘Goddess Gagged’, and this is his solo album. It has a feel-good quotient that is bound to make you want to nod your head in delight. If you happen to feel a bit rummy then this album is sure to drive the blues away. The songs brush past fleetingly, and gradually make their presence felt by snaking their way into our senses. The music doesn’t bludgeon you, but is more like a friendly nudge, which, given the state of modern music, is a pleasant change.
The album comprises of three tracks: ‘Light up my life’, ‘Come September’, and ‘Sandwich Song’.
The album transposes me to those sluggish rainy mornings when everything seems to have slowed down so that I can savour it. The name of the album couldn’t have been more apt as the music tugs on your sleeve, and beckons you to let the melodies take over. The songs are built on a 4×4 composition, but the music flows effortlessly without any jerks, the composition is more multi-layered than it appears, as a lot of interesting sounds have been incorporated.
‘Light up my life’ – This song is a great start to the album. It is built on a catchy melody that will quickly make you tap your feet in tandem. It will, most certainly, induce a sweet, nostalgic vibe that is sure to make you sing, or hum, if you have a lousy voice
‘Making a Sandwich’ – Another great song, gives you ample reason to smile. A quaint little town crops up in memory, a little bird flits by. Starts off with a great hook, and it made me realize how interesting a seemingly boring chore of making a sandwich can be. It pretty much sums up what I feel about the album. Simple but profound, in a picturesque kind of a way, this album makes you want to look at things with a fresh pair of eyes.
‘Come September’feat Vishal J.Singh’ – This is a great composition. This is a much darker songs compared to the other too. It works into a great chorus and one is immediately enveloped by an array of well-written song structures. This song features Vishal J.Singh. Despite being composed by seasoned musicians there are no unwarranted displays of skill.
Well you must have been able to infer by now that this album has warmed the cockles of my heart, and, you know, nothing like hot cockles. So, I think this album is a great release, and I cite its inherent simplicity as one of the elements that hooked me. I’m a sucker for feel-good power pop songs that make you want to climb trees or float around. At the risk of sounding like a philistine let me make it clear from the outset that over-complex songs tend to bore the crap out of me. But this album is not overbearing. It plays in the background giving you the opportunity to dream about doing awesome things, like saving a cat.
But in this album we find the organic blend of good song writing and melodies. It could have veered into the dangerous territory of hammed up tunes, but there is air of freshness to the music, which, I presume, stems from an honest approach to music.
If you enjoy good power pop, and have been craving for some sugary riffs, then give this album a spin. This album the jazzy appeal of bands like ‘the Hollies’ and ‘the Animals’ and fuses it with more contemporary influences. This results in a vibrant appeal in the music that casts a spell on you. I would certainly rate it as one of the better releases to have emerged from the indie-scene.
Best Song: Come September
