Spinning new tunes, themes

Founded in 2008, Skrat’s music can be described as energetic with a unique attribute. It is based on a dense theme which revolves around each album.
(From left) Sriram T T, Jhanu Chanthar and Tapass Naresh | Meghana Sastry
(From left) Sriram T T, Jhanu Chanthar and Tapass Naresh | Meghana Sastry

BENGALURU: Despite a diminishing independent music scene in the city, Chennai-based garage rock band Skrat has kept the spirits alive with their dynamic outfit featuring Sriram T T on guitars and vocals, Tapass Naresh on drums and Jhanu Chanthar on bass guitars.

At Fandom-Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala, on Saturday, the band took centre stage to play their widely acclaimed hits like Samurai Badass, Tin Can Man, Love Rider, Chaos and also showcased a fresh set of untitled tracks, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Founded in 2008, Skrat’s music can be described as energetic with a unique attribute. It is based on a dense theme which revolves around each album. In 2013, the band released Bring Out The Big Guns, an album which was widely acclaimed and followed by The Queen in 2014 and Bison in 2017.

The distinct themes speak of characters and events in a universe of their own. Sriram mentions how Bring Out The Big Guns and The Queen spoke on the lines of anti-establishment without being preachy. “Bison picks off from where The Queen ends. The storyline tells us how the queen is dead or in exile and General Bison, who is a fail-safe in her absence, comes out to restore order in the world through various means. Our future works will focus on connecting the dots with respect to various characters and maybe a prequel to previous albums as well,” he said.

Lyrical duties are undertaken by Sriram, who further narrated about the story behind his track Samurai Badass, which went on to be a crowd-favourite since its release in 2013. “We don’t like bullies and the song spoke about personification of problems along with the whole concept of the character going rogue to avenge an atrocity,” he said.

Speaking about their upcoming projects, Chanthar said a new album or EP will soon be on its way to the listeners. “New songs are coming up with a completely new direction and we are moving out of our comfort zone. We just like to make things interesting for ourselves,” he said.

Known for their DIY approach, the band has been a strong advocate of independent music in the country. “The first thing is to stick together and be a band and then comes the effort to promote the work. There’s nothing wrong in being under a management. We have a DIY approach because the whole management scene in India has had issues, they don’t stick around as long as bands do,” says Sriram.

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