(From left) Apurv Agrawal, Aarifah Rebello and Zubin Pastakia

For Pastakia, the festival concluded with a sight of his favourite musician Sting in performance. “You had to have heard The police if you were born in the ’80s. In fact, Andy Summers [guitarist of The police] was one of my favourites, and his chords and style influenced a lot of my work. It was great. I hate to sound like an uncle, but when you create music you love, others will relate to it,” he says with a laugh.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.76%

AAP 43.10%

INC 24.14%

Submit

View All In Poll

The release of the EP — on January 19 — was also planned to coincide with their gig at Lollapalooza. Aside from the deeper emotional resonance of the lyrics, the songs have powerful guitar chords, captivating melodic arrangements and vocals by Rebello. Love song for an apocalypse and Empire bring on a brilliant combination of guitars, melody and a catchy groove. The former also has the addition of Sanaya Ardeshir AKA Sandunes on synth and Jai Row Kavi on drums.

Pastakia explains that the idea was never for the album to be a solo project. “Love Song and Delicate surrender were among the first demos written. I had shared with Sandunes [Sanaya Ardeshir] back then. They introduced us to Jai, who was familiar with the vibe of the song. The collaborations just happened organically,” he shared.

The songs also share an emotional undercurrent. The band calls it an ‘emotional journey of loss, longing, disappointment and grief’, and it is hard to disagree. Skin to sea, for instance, has a complex structure, and an even more moving story.

Pastakia reveals, “It was the first song written after the passing of my father. Lyrically and musically, it is among the most interesting songs on track. Apurv’s guitar lifts the emotional resonance of the track, while Aarifah adds her vocal melodies. It is also not a traditional song with a verse, chorus and outro form. It mirrors the journey of my grief in some way.”

With their debut EP out, the band is already working their way to new singles. “We are planning to release a couple of singles this year. The effort is to be honest with yourself. In a landscape, where songs and albums are often designed according trends and reels, it feels more important,” says Pastakia.

Log on to How the mighty will fall on Spotify; Apple Music