MUMBAI: Anxiety, frustration and love make up F16’s new release, titled ‘TriggerPunkte’, a German term which means ‘trigger points of the body’. The nine-track album is said to be a musical work of human emotion, and will release by the end of next month.

Commenting on the name and concept of the album, Harshan Radhakrishnan (keyboardist) said, "We were trying hard to find a name and spent quite a while discussing it. And then someone came up with the term ‘TriggerPunkte’, and we felt it had a ring to it; it kind of goes with the vibe of the album."

He also explained that there is no specific concept to the album. “It is just about different emotions that humans go through, and how these emotions are triggered,” Radhakrishnan added.

The musician also hinted that the album could be released by the end of this year. However, the first track from the album- 'You Could Use Me as a Weapon’ will hopefully be out by next month. French director Jimmy Granger was roped in for the video, which was shot in Mumbai. The F16's and Granger crossed paths during an Airtel commercial shoot, and were in talks for almost a year for the video which is currently in its editing stage.

Speaking about the lyrical theme o f the single, the band’s vocalist Joshua (Josh) Fernandez, who usually writes lyrics, said, “Most of the lyrics are around vague interpretations of love, romance and melancholy. It is just a song about how the youth feel, it gives a vague message; there is no deep meaning to the lyrics.”

The album was recorded in a Chennai home studio belonging to Tobey Joseph, a friend of the band. Radhakrishnan revealed that they made the decision to record in a home studio because the band feels a certain comfort. "Recording in a home studio feels more personal. We like that vibe, and Tobey is great at his work. We generally program drum tracks as we like the layering aspect were we are mixing acoustic and electronically produced drum sounds."

He agreed that it is difficult to replicate the same sound live, but that is the idea; to offer some difference to audience between a live set and recorded music. It showcases two different side of the band.

Radhakrishnan also said that the new album is much more refined as opposed to the EP as a lot of thought and time went into writing ‘TriggerPunkte’. “The EP was more like a tribute to the bands we listen to, but this album is their own original sound. With time, our song writing has matured. Making music is a group process for us; every member contributes with ideas, this is our natural style. Some tracks are born in the jam room and some in the computer, or sometimes it is just a riff that materialises into a song," he added.

In addition to working on the band’s projects, Radhakrishnan also divulged some details about a side project he has with another member of the band. “Josh and I are also working on an electronica project called ‘Pixls’. We may put out an EP by mid next year if all goes as planned. We are also thinking about collaborations for this EP, but cannot confirm anything at moment, as the focus is on ‘TriggerPunkte’, he said.

Since launching three years ago, the F16’s has become rather popular in the indie music scene relatively quickly, and the band credits its success to the country’s ever increasing live space. “We believe that we came in at the right time,” Radhakrishnan stated. A turning point in their career was the association with Only Much Louder (OML). He explained that being managed by professionals has brought them the required recognition. “As a band, we can make music, but cannot sell it. This is where event companies like OML step in. They take care of gigs, plan album releases, logistics, getting the right kind of sound etc. Having a manager really helps, people take us a lot more seriously. Also the Converse competition that we won gave us a lot of exposure because we got the chance to record in New York,” he added.

The F16’s is currently on a 16-city promo tour in support of ‘TriggerPunkte’, planned by its manager Kalidas. The tour includes performances at some big festivals like ‘Harley Rock Riders’ (Mumbai) and NH7 Weekender (Shillong and Banglore).