Around 6 months after vocalist EPR aka Santhanam Srinivasan Iyer announced his departure, Underground Authority is back with a new line up.
Two weeks after the band posted about their 13 years of being together, then vocalist EPR had announced his departure from the band, leaving fans guessing what the future looks like. The multilingual rapper and singer took to social media and spoke about his 13 year old journey with his bandmates.
Underground Authority had put up a post on Instagram that they will be back with new music almost within a month, adding more to the suspense. On the first week of October after 6 months of silence, the band finally posted a video about their new single “Saansein” to be released on the 13th of October. Soon we got to know the new vocalist is none other than the Stage 3 winner Sidhhant Sharma when the song released.
The band performed with their new setup at the Kolkata Tattoo Festival on the release day itself. Next day Kolkata Tattoo Festival posted about the amazing experience they had with the band’s new lineup, songs and overall a new sound. “They gifted us an incredible evening, with a day full of tattoos and a night full of muse. It was a memorable and exciting event that showcased the best of music and artistry,” their instagram post read.
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Sidhhant also posted on his Instagram channel about getting back after a 3 and a half year hiatus. “I’m finally back, both mentally and physically and yes!!! Finally released something. This time with Underground Authority as their new front man.”
Underground Authority: Flag bearers for Rap-Rock from East India since 2001
What emerged as an offspring of the experimental nu-age outfit ‘Weapon Shop,’ that once rocked the stage of IIT Kharagpur’s Springfest, and the rap rock band ‘Skydive’, became one of the leading rock bands from the contemporary Indian indie scene. Underground Authority, often referred to by fans as simply ‘UA’ has been a crowd favourite in college fests across India. Having performed over 100 fests in their first 5 years of being active, UA quickly gained fame after their appearance at the second edition of India’s Got Talent (Khoj 2). In the succeeding years, Underground Authority continued to pave the way for their stardom, adding accolades to their name along the way. Check out their winning performance at the Hornbill Interntional Rock Contest 2013 below:
UA took a short hiatus from live performance after the departure of ex-guitarist Kuntal De from the band. A few years later they changed their sound by incorporating elements of alternative rock, rap, and reggae and released their debut bi-lingual album ‘You Authority’ with a collection of their most known songs and a few new ones.
EPR Iyer, known for his edgy lyrical enigma and over-the-top stage antics was not the best of singers. Perhaps the weakest link in the rock outfit, the emcee-poet-rapper soon found new avenues to stardom. He gained fame for his ‘protest poetry’ that landed him in top 3 at the 2019 edition of MTV Hustle, which focused on finding India’s next talent in hip-hop music.
The band continued to perform regionally after the end of the pandemic, but the ex-frontman was more oriented towards his side projects which began gaining traction after the recent hip-hop wave in India.
EPR’s departure shall be a decisive moment in the band’s career as they now shift their sound away from the nu-age rap rock vibe that the four piece setup is known for. With Sid Sharma at the helm, UA now includes founding members Adil Rashid, Sourish Kumar and Soumyadeep Bhattacharya. Perhaps now, with a real vocalist who understands musical harmony, the band can finally unleash their full potential and set the cornerstone for alternative rock in Eastern India.
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