Trip-hopping to hearts

It’s easy for one to turn quite blase when it comes to the music the City has to offer. Proliferating bands with jarring supersonics and high-energy electrics is sometimes overdone and can sound boring, if not pastiche. So it’s quite a relief to see ‘Blushing Satellite’, a trippy ensemble, churning out material that is not run-of-the-mill but a complete ‘U-turn’ from the usual. A four-part troupe that comprises committed musicians, the band was formed in June this year and their EP, which recently hit the streets, has already topped musical charts and playlists of fans across the globe.

At best, the band takes one on a trip across the universe and back, crossing boundaries of space. Karthik Basker’s soothing and rich vocals combined with the ambient and ethereal sound provided by Ramanan Chandramouli on guitars can pull the heartstrings. Their musical signatures dance like a fluid ballerina as Arjun Ramdas, on bass and Wesley Newton, on drums tighten the entire set and the four perfectly communicate the mood and emotions. Ramanan says, “The listener is invited on a journey where time, ego and space doesn’t matter. It’s just them and music. The songs are uplifting in nature and provide a positive source of energy to tap into.”

The band seems to have mastered lyrical brevity, as for the most part, their instruments trace a mercurial arch, helps the listener travel with the song and feel connected to the universe. Though it’s a hard task to translate a transcendental subject to lyrics, the band practises for four hours a week and treat it like work. Going against the grain, their decision on the genre was a conscious one as writing short songs with verse and chorus is not their favourite way to stimulate creativity. A graduate from LA Music Academy with a degree in guitar performance, Ramanan decided to start a project of his own. “I had worked with Karthik Basker two years ago and we really enjoyed the kind of music we were writing then. So we got together to discuss writing music on a similar but a more intricate tangent. We immediately hit it off and ended up writing and recording eight songs in a span of two months.”

Ramanan looks at Indie music scene as that which requires surmounting changes before being termed as a music industry itself. “The music industry is basically Bollywood music and a money making regime with no intent on promoting arts and culture. The Bangalore indie scene is quite mediocre with bands who just don’t work hard enough and musicians who just don’t practice enough. Of course there are a few bands like Shepherd, ‘TAAQ’ and ‘Parvaaz’ who don't fit this category and inspire us to work as hard as they do.” But they continue to stride these challenges and have come out smiling. The band will play on November 8 at Pebble. They also hope to release their first album early next year. All said and done, their music helps one get away from the conundrum of life. It’s all about the music of silence.