In their debut EP, a city-based band mixes things up for a melodious mishmash of poetry and hip-hop grooves
The three-year-old band Chabuk
Four Mumbaikars in their early 30s are brewing up a storm with their debut EP weaving together Hindi rhythm and poetry and rhymes with groovy, heavy-duty melodic pattern. Called Chabuk, the three-year-old band is talking about a variety of things with their four tracks in the album Downmarket. And yes, it does include one about young love, lust and even abuse, aptly called Pyaar.
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"We've all middle-class regular guys. Our lyrics are empathetic in nature because I believe empathy breeds creation, which can then be tongue-in-cheek, cocky and poetic,” says vocalist Tanmay Bahulekar AKA Microphon3', who has been writing his own songs for 20 years now. The band includes Devanshu Sampat on drums and Roop Thomas on bass.
“The songs are born out of observation and experiences. They are easy to consume and understand and meant for everyone because our songs are relatable. Like our album title and also one of the songs, downmarket, which talks about how everyone has spurts of being downmarket at some point, and that’s what binds us,” explains Bahulekar, adding that it also stems from an incident sometime back when a TV channel called his Instagram for his food video page (called bombaybhukkad) ‘downmarket’.
Their most popular song of the four as of now, called Shahenshah is a fun take on the scheme of things, with a tongue-and-cheek vibe. “It’s direct but there’s a certain cockiness to it. We’re talking about how there’s no need to be so angry all the time, and how the entire culture of who’s the best is passé and jaded,” explains Bahulekar.
Kaun Hip Hop aims to rightly define hip-hop as a culture that extends beyond rhythm, poetry, and wordplay. “Hip-hop is making what’s around you your own, finding a style and finding something to say about things your observe and things that surround you using lyrics and poetry as a medium. Hip-Hop is community-building and though lyrics can sometimes sound impolite or aggressive, they literally bring people together,” explains Bahulekar.
Up next, the outfit is hoping to go tour with their EP, but once they find a new guitarist after their original guitarist Michael Lee has to move to Singapore.
Log on to: https://song.link/album/i/1468944028
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