BENGALURU: Since its launch in 2013, Tel Aviv-based Indie-pop outfit Garden City Movement has been making waves with their distinct sound and groovy tunes. On Sunday, the three-piece outfit featuring Roi Avital (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Joe Saar (guitar, sampler, keyboards) and Johnny Sharoni (vocals, sampler, percussion) sent the crowd into a frenzy with sturdy bass and balmy vocals at the Echoes of Earth festival that took place over the weekend.
As their four-city tour came to an end with the Bengaluru leg, the band reflected on what bought the outfit together. “Each of us came from different places and brought in years of experience into the band. We just started to make music together from scratch and it was never about copying someone. We are original and authentic as a band,” says Saar.
In 2018, the band released their first full-length album Apollinia, prior to which, it had recorded four EPs. Avital refers to Apollinia as a moment in their lifetime with respect to what they felt. “It tells our story and it is what we want people to know when they listen to our music.
The only difference in the album is that all the tracks are connected,” he says. Saar spoke about the single Miss You (2019), which tells the story of a person who follows his loved one to Tokyo and finds himself lost in Shimokitazawa, he further added, “He knows he needs to move on, and can’t talk to his loved one about how he came all the way just for her, and knows that she won’t hear him.”
In 2014, the band released their second EP, Bengali Cinema, which they claim is an expression of a place where one can live to a maximum. “If you take Bollywood, the movies are larger than life, unlike Hollywood. In Indian cinema, they love the hardest, they hate the hardest and when you think about putting emotion in the highest places, you come to think of these movies and that is what the EP was all about,” says Saar.
The members really love Indian movies and music. “We especially like composer Illayaraja’s work. Also, the crowd here throws so much energy back at the band that it makes us perform a lot better. We want to come back as we feel a part of the country,” Saar says.Speaking about their upcoming projects, the band says they are currently working on their second album. However, Sharoni adds, “We can promise one thing – it will be emotional, intelligent and amazing.”