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News |  18 Aug 2014 21:51 |  By RnMTeam

Sage and the Comets to release live music video compilation

MUMBAI: Delhi based alternative indie band, Sage and the Comets is creating ripples with their latest single 'Popcorn' released through BalconyTV. The members of the band comprise Subhadra Kamath (vocals, acoustic guitar), Aashish Mandhwani (guitars), Varun Gupta (percussion, keyboard) and Aditya Roy (bass). Their guitarist, Mandhwani talks to Radioandmusic.com about their unconventional plans of compiling a series of live music videos into a CD.

Initially known as Fire Exit, the band has been an integral part of the independent music scene in the country, especially in their hometown, Delhi. In the past, they played for NH7 and have been featured on Channel V Launchpad and debuted as Sage and the Comets at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2011. With an album released back then titled 'OKBye', they insist that their sound has since changed and their latest singles like 'In Reverse', 'Taking Shape' and 'Popcorn' proves the point.

This time, instead of releasing an album, the band plans on taking an alternative path by compiling a series of live video versions of their tracks. They have been shooting at various locations and are looking at eight different tracks. Mandhwani says, "We will probably complete one video every month and it will be like a live video album but not a studio audio version."

Their next video will be released in the month of September and the fans have high expectations, especially after their single 'Popcorn'. He explains, "Even though we have a studio album almost ready, we think, the audiences react well to videos, singles and visuals instead of audio alone. In terms of simple numbers, an album may not be the best way to put out our music. Plus, we wanted to do something different. Also, we want the album to be a part of an entire offering, not the only one."

Since the time when they went under the moniker Fire Exit, they have shifted to a much more folk/acoustic sound with percussions replacing the drum set. The guitarist says, "Basically, it was more of a branding change because, our sound had changed even though the members were the same."

Their personal musical influences are varied due to different musical backgrounds, ranging from Porcupine Tree, Zero 7, Coldplay, Zakir Hussain, Mumford and Sons and many more. Mandhwani says that they also are ardent fans of Indian bands and artistes like Shadow and Light, Five 8, Coshish, Junkyard Groove and others.

The band performed a gig at The Roost Bistro in Hauz Khas, Delhi on 16 August and has been consistently 'gigging' since its inception. He admits, "We are not sure about our upcoming gigs since, we will be busy travelling for a while but, obviously, we would love to play at festivals like the Weekender, Ziro Festival in Arunachal Pradesh (even though our sound is really different) and Storm Festival in Coorg."

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