90’s inspired 5-piece independent folk pop/rock band from Kolkata, Paridhi dropped their debut album “Taara Bazaar”. With a groovy sound emerging from root influences which smoothly blends with modern pop-rock, Paridhi’s Hindi and Bangla originals are sure to keep your sweep you off your feet! Released last Wednesday, the album has been mixed and mastered by Suvam Moitro and recorded at Prasad Kohe Studio in Calcutta.
Also read in our reviews section: ‘As We Fade Out’ by Jolec is a Moving Indie-Pop Ballad About Love
Taara Bazaar: A fresh sound of nostalgia
The first track “Tere Natin” sounds like a fresh breath of air after coming home. The mellow lyrical sax solo played by Jonathan Kay blends in effortlessly with the sound. “Raat Pakhi”, the next track is a beautiful romantic slow ballad which is sure to make you nostalgic. The acoustic guitar arpeggios and the relaxed melodious electric guitar solo stays with you.
Jhilmil: Paridhi releases video for the song ft. Surangana Bandopadhyay
Furthermore “Jhilmil” is the first Hindi track on the album, with three more to follow. The band also released the video for this song which features actress Surangana Bandopadhyay, along with Driti Nandy and Mishor Bose. With a story set in Kolkata, the way the Kolkata street visuals compliment the sound is sure to bring back the nostalgia. When Surangana who plays the role of a house maid in the video sets out on the streets with the bicycle, maybe that is the dream the songwriter wants us to dream, to chase infinity with whatever means you can afford to.
“The album consists of eight tracks, four in Hindi and four in Bangla, all speaking touching the themes of dreams and thoughts we have at night”, says violinist Souptik Mazumder, justifying the apt name “Taara Bazaar.”
“Aarale” and “Chand Bulau,” where they have collaborated with Joy Sarkar, both mention “chand” as in the moon in two different ways in two different languages. The album finally ends on a groovy note with “Naach” and the last track “Taara Bazaar.” Sajal Kumar has penned down the lyrics for the tracks “Taara Bazaar” as well as “Chand Bulau.” The title track talks about chasing dreams again, about the sound of one’s soil, bringing in a sense of freedom and relief that aptly describes the whole album.
Listen to the “Taara Bazaar” debut LP here:
In Conversation with Calcutta Folk-Pop/Rock Outfit Paridhi
Sinusoidal Music got the opportunity to catch up with the band!
- Let’s start with how Paridhi’s inception. So can you tell us about how the band started? How did you people come across each other?
Paridhi began as a local project, you can say – a group of neighbourhood friends came together to make music! While some have moved on, we’ve continued our relentless journey with Paridhi. On the way, incidentally, when some left, we found brilliant musicians (and now our best friends) from our ‘paara’ (locality) only – serendipity you can say!
- Why pop rock and how do you blend in the rooted folk influence with modern soundscapes? Let’s talk about each of your influences.
Paridhi is largely influenced by the early ’00s indie scene of our nation – think Indian Ocean, Raghu Dixit, Avial! Taking a cue, we do multilingual music mainly in Bangla and Hindi! So, we’ve always loved listening to and subsequently making songs that are contemporary but are in some ways, a tribute to our roots.
Additionally, our bassist, Sumit, and guitarist, Rick, has perhaps had the most telling impact on our traditional, root influences. They brought in a more global perspective in our music – and as perfect pieces of a jigsaw, all of our severely varying interests blended into what is now Paridhi’s ‘sound.’
- Where did you get the name ‘Paridhi’ from and what does it mean?
Paridhi means ‘boundary’ – this boundary is an ever-expanding one – in terms of languages and influences! We love to set our own unique boundary too – one that is a statement!
- Let us explore the composition process. Is there a general way to go about it? Do you sit together and try to come up with something or work on ideas that individual members already have?
It’s a mix of both really – we’ve composed tunes either individually or as a group too. So, no set process per say. But yes, there are no individual decisions – even if it’s a solo idea, it’s placed before everyone else, feedback is exchanged, and a way forward is charted. Very importantly, when the track is designed, it’s done collectively. We sit together with our instruments, jam to the tune, and decide how best we can present it. So we’re a bit regimented that way – we feel this routine brings together an otherwise creatively liberal process!
All five of us also literally live with our songs 24×7 – so there’s something going on our minds always!
Beyond this, because we are great friends, our random jam sessions are often minefields!
- Coming to ‘Taara Bazaar’, the album talks a lot about chasing dreams I feel which is why I see the album theme is nighttime, the time when you dream. I’m sure you people have also struggled and are still struggling every day to be here. That’s what we dreamers do. Tell us about it.
Let’s just put it this way – each of us feel extremely lucky that we get to wake up and make music everyday! The luckier bit? We make a living out of it – modest it may be, but it is something. So we are in some ways living our dreams – now it is up to us to scale it up further.
Taara Bazaar is about dreams and aspirations, yes! But it also speaks of camaraderie, friendship, and the process of ‘dreaming’ – about leaving your home, meeting people on the way, and getting by with a little help from our friends!
- Discuss the collaborations in ‘Taara Bazaar’..say Joy Sarkar or Suvam Moitra or Surangana Bandopadhyay. How does it feel to work with such big names?
Very humbling, actually – each of our collaborators have been so supportive – they’ve embraced this project whole heartedly!
Joy Sarkar, who’s been our mentor for our own musical journey, has played the guitar masterfully for Taara Bazaar’s ‘Chaand Bulau’ – his touch has elevated our track so very much! Beyond this too, he has continually provided feedback on each of our tracks and we’ve tried to incorporate it to the best of our abilities.
Suvam Moitra is perhaps the strongest backbone of this project. He has mixed and mastered the entire album – but this really is the tip of the iceberg. His vision has moulded this album in every which way – his unending efforts during our production process and our recording sessions has really defined the quality of this album. Additionally, we were lucky to have him as a featuring artist on the guitars for our title track, Taara Bazaar.
Surangana came on board for Jhilmil’s music video. She tirelessly, cycled (literally) across Kolkata for the video’s storyline – that day, her deep love for the independent scene shone through! We were very lucky to have her as an unconditional support system for this project.
- Please share your future plans with our readers. Do you have more material brewing in the studio? Where can your fans expect to catch you live next?
We’ve been signed on by SVF Music for a host of projects – all of them are in the making and we can’t wait to share it with you! The first of this series, Kyano, was released in March and we’ve been overwhelmed by the love!
We’re going to be in Delhi in October and we can’t wait to play some good music for all of you!
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