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Album Artwork by Rajish Kappad.

Step out of the Crowd: A For – Gumbal 

Guitarist Arjun Iyer, known for his recent, yet prolific work with Eatshootleave (including an innovative cover of Radiohead’s Lotus Flower at Blue Frog), teams up with ex-bassist Satish Shridhar for a deranged 12 minute EP. Gumbal, which means “crowd” in Tamil, sees 6 tracks that follow a curious strain of electro-pop with rock, folk and minor EDM influences. Catchy riffs, light singing and psychedelic samples feature in almost every song. Very minimalistic, each element is carefully crafted. The acoustic guitars and ‘folksy’ feel are deep and a little more intrinsic than the outer layers of superficial electronica, which provide a delicate facade and unique balance to this dynamic of sound. The EP metaphorically narrates the story of an outcast journeying to collect knowledge and eventually returning to the crowd as the dominant entity.

Starting off with A For, the title track, a short sample narrating the outcast, with electronic beats in the background, it seamlessly moves into Albino, with a very Swamp rock sounding intro. Albino is rich with heavy bass and pop style vocals, ending with some trippy delayed guitars and more voice sampling. Albatross, the longest song on the album, weighing in at a mere 3 minutes, is quite a dreamy track nonetheless. With some distant electric guitars revolving around very Indian sounding ragas, a rhythmic vocal line and some very glitch-like effects, the middle of the song sees a neat breakdown complete with groovy basslines, and again ends with some vocal sampling. Annatchi, a song about the outcast attaining knowledge and power, sees a very ‘modern indie’ crooning reminiscent of The Library’s Siddharth Basrur, and is probably the most folksy track on the record. Alpha, about the outcast’s return, is a powerful and upbeat tune featuring a really unorthodox synth interlude that somehow joins back up again to the central rhythm. Applause, the last song, is again typically Indian Rock, but some very nice soundscaping, synth usage and lovely guitar patches make for a really enjoyable one minute of music!

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What really is unique is the concept. Under 12 minutes, the EP is shorter than many songs. Yet, each of the six tiny tracks that make up the album flow through several moods and styles, giving Gumbal a dreamy yet unpredictable dynamic. Not letting you wander off into any one groove for too long, their inconsistency and short song lengths are very different from the average indie releases and have already reached quite a large national audience. With every song based around the note A, the record title couldn’t be more apt. Having quit their jobs to actively pursue music as a career, the duo hope to tour this March with more material.

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