Second act

Swadesi

When they came together for the first time in 2016 for their collaborative EP Katal Kalaa, Swadesi got it's socially relevant lyrics and Bandish Projekt aka Mayur Narvekar brought his Indian classical roots and electronic beats to make sonic magic. Three years later, they are back with the six-track Khulle Naagde, their second project that is more of a follow-up. Talk about how they get their div­erse genres to complement each ot­her, and Narvekar ex­plains that their music is a product of the different cultures they hail from. "100 RBH aka Saurabh Abhyankar brings his hardcore Amravati roots, MC Mawali aka Aklesh Sutar and MC Tod Fod aka Dharmesh Parmar bring the Mumbai flavour, Maharya aka Yash M Mahida gets his Bengali vibe and I contribute with my Gujarati bit," he says. This also explains why they rap in regional languages.

And because the multi-lingual aspect of their lyrics is a known and organic aspect of the hip-hop crew, it came as a surprise when the first gig of their tour in Bengaluru this past weekend was interrupted by the venue when a few members of the crowd protested the Malayalam songs that Kerala-based Street Academics were playing. "The venue was aware the band would perform in Malayalam when they booked them. The ironic part is that the people who had a pr­oblem with the so­ngs, asked the band to sing in Kannada or En­glish. We got on stage after things calmed down and perfor­m­ed in Marathi and Gujar­ati, and no one had any issue. This is the first time I've seen something like this," says the artiste who has been performing since 1997. "It was a sad situation but that's our culture now - getting offended by everything," he adds.

Bandish Projekt aka Mayur Narvekar

He is certain, though, that this kind of a scenario will not happen at a Mumbai venue. The gig tomorrow will feature the entire EP, whose name loosely translates to "our souls are open and naked".

"We're just animals wearing good clothes with the sensibility of staying in a society. We all have the same basic needs," Narvekar explains. The song Jhand written by Abhyankar will be in Amravati Marathi, which differs from the version of the language that most Mumbaikars are used to. "The song talks about young kids who are living off their parents' money and wasting their lives," explains Narvekar. Another song comments on how because the youth is always on social media, the country is run by oldies, and how things should be the other way round for real progress to be achieved. Then there's Kathor Satya, where Narvekar gives a massive dubstep drop. "Our music works because it's 50 per cent rap and 50 per cent music, thus catering to both fans of lyrics and the melody. When I first met Saurabh he told me there's no concept of hip-hop where he comes from, but people are interested in what the songs have to say," concludes Narvekar, who will also be releasing an EP under his other drum and bass solo act under the moniker Mossilator.

ON July 18, 9 pm
AT The Habitat - Comedy and Music Cafe,1st and 4th Hotel Unicontinental, Road number 3, Khar West.
LOG ON TO www.ticketfairy.com
COST Rs 400

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