BENGALURU: The past year has prompted many people to re-think their lives, and Swarathma’s band members are no different. In the past few weeks, the five-member band has released ‘Simply Live’, a series of acoustic video songs that strip music down to the bare essentials: the artistes and their instruments.
Jishnu Dasgupta, on bass and vocals, says the acoustic series is aimed at giving the audience a musical treat without any amplification and presenting music in its original form. “The Simply Live series is a result of not being able to perform during the pandemic. We could not connect with our audience and interact with them through our music. So, getting into a room with just our acoustic instruments and belting out our songs was a great way to just regain our sanity,” says Dasgupta.
The first song of the series, Sur Mera, was conceptualised by Vasu Dixit, and hit social media on February 26. It talks about how individuals lose their spark, or their creativity, and the beauty of finding it again.The second song Pyasi, released on March 12, was also conceptualised by Dixit, and aims to shine a light on the conflict between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the water of the Cauvery river. Dixit believes that humans are part of nature and not above nature. “Pyasi is dedicated to River Cauvery. The song tries to convey that Cauvery is quenching the thirst of its sons and daughters. But when they fight among themselves, the river itself gets thirsty. It is all about how we look at nature,” says Dixit.
Kaash, released on April 2, is a ballad that talks about regret, and one’s attitude towards it. “It is very macho to say I do not like to live with regrets. But is that really the case? I think we should try to make peace with the regret we feel,” says Dasgupta, who conceptualised the song.
The other two tracks from the Simply Live series – Manwa and Rishton ka Raasta – are expected to release later this month. The acoustic video series was shot and recorded live on a single day in November 2020 and is available on the band’s YouTube and Instagram accounts.
“With these videos, my intention was to capture the essence of jamming without getting caught up with the intricacies of mics and technical stuff. The idea was also to strip down the set without running click track along with supporting tracks that we use during a regular live gig,” says the band’s guitarist and producer Varun Murali.