Kamal Singh’s latest solo project, Hoirong saw the release of his first full length solo album called The Resurrection of the Princess of Woe And Her Vampire Hound Posse (T.R.O.T.P.O.W.A.H.V.H.P) recently. If the name of the album sounds too ominous, one should know that Hoirong means a**shole in Manipuri. “It means more than what it actually does, like all curse words. I wanted to name the project something stupid, something irrelevant, and maybe a little obnoxious too,” says Kamal, who is famous for his previous band, Lounge Piranha(LP), which stopped playing gigs in 2011.
Working with just a laptop and a pirated copy of LogicPro, Kamal produced T.R.O.T.P.O.W.A.H.V.H.P (a ten track album) within the span of three weeks. “The ideas were quite strong in my mind for this one, so it happened quite quickly,” says Kamal. While tracks like Super Glue and Namaste remind one of Kamal’s LP days, in songs like Bajrang Bali and Fancy Dress + Hindi = Awesome, Kamal’s lyrics show a preference for morbid humor, albeit with extremely catchy hooks.
Showcasing some of his oldest punk tunes, T.R.O.T.P.O.W.A.H.V.H.P is an unrestrained, crazy, and punk album, with Kamal working in quite a lot of noise into the songs, giving it that sludgy, raw feel. This album is Kamal’s ode to the 90’s alternative music scene, and T.R.O.T.P.O.W.A.H.V.H.P is definitely a triumph of sorts. To be able to remove oneself so neatly from the kind of music being made around him, and to create something fresh and unique and true to one’s tastes, takes a different level of dedication.
Reportedly, Kamal is now working on his next solo album, this time under the moniker 3 Sevens, that he formed way back in 2004. This album might see him making a departure from the lo-fi production style that he adopted for Hoirong. “It’s taking longer to get it ready because I’m keeping it really minimal. I might even have to work in a studio for vocals and some of the guitar parts. I was actually working on this album and then I gave up and finished the Hoirong album first. The album will have about 12 tracks. I think I’ve played all the songs on the album at some point,” informs Kamal.
Kamal hopes to start gigging by the end of September. “The first set of gigs should happen in and around Delhi. I’m looking to put together a band for Hoirong now. As for 3 Sevens, let’s see what happens,” says Kamal.