One of Lucknow's craziest events, the Indie Music & Beer Fest by Knocksense, is almost here and the headlining band here, When Chai Met Toast, has been the talk of the town.
In a rather fun conversation with rising stars of the Indie-folk alt band, performing at the vivacious fest on April 9, the band members go candid.
Their new release, which is being deemed soft, bubbly, and sprightly, is being adored by the fans. Talking about the Sushi Song, WCMT vocalist Ashwin Gopakumar expresses his desire to "go on a crazy trip.. In the land of rising sun, eating sushi under the moon."
"When you sit at home and start thinking of stuff, the lyrics kinda flow. I had a whole picture of what I was writing about. It's something I wanted to do in my personal life."Says Ashwin Gopakumar
"It just clicked and Achyuth (Jaigopal) called the song 'Sushi', he continues, with a note of enthusiasm.
"Musically, we wanted it to be celebratory and full of happiness. It was recorded last year in London. We've released a song after a year or so. It's great to come back!" Ashwin adds.
Talking about the response on the song which has been reaching various listeners, he goes on, "The fans have been very kind. We saw numerous reels with the music and it started trending on Instagram."
Since Instagram came up organically in the conversation, we asked the Kochi-based band about what they thought of Indie music uprising and the contribution of social media in the success.
"It has been a huge factor in the boost, definitely. When we released Joy Of Little Things, it did not have much listenership initially. Although, now, it has gained fast pace and is shared on Instagram reels frequently. People have been using the song for all the little things that bring them joy and it's beautiful to see that," shares guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal.
"Although, a downside to this is that people discover 70% of their playlist is from Instagram reels," he adds, in a contemplative manner.
Reminiscing their journey since 2016, the WCMT member noted, "It's something that we dreamt of and it makes us elated to see more and more people dancing to our tunes, more turning up for our shows, relating to our songs, and talk about us."
"It is very flattering as well, for the four boys who started making songs back in the day, probably 7 years ago. We didn't know what would happen then and now with growing listeners, it has been ecstatic."WCMT guitarist, Achyuth Jaigopal, shares.
"It's not been a very fast-tracked process but it's good to see growth happen. The seeds were planted in 2016 and we're just making sure we water them every day," Drummer Pai Sailesh opines.
Answering another question, which is probably always on people's minds, on why the name 'When Chai Met Toast', the band members laugh and continue,
"This is something we answer on a daily basis. Honestly, we didn't contemplate about it too much but just went ahead with the first thing that struck us. It was also very catchy and stood out for the crowd."
"It also reflects on the amalgamation — the Indian identity of Chai and the English folk," a thought well-put by Ashwin.
Much excited to perform at the Knocksense event, Indie Music Beer Fest, the band members talk about the same. "Always, always looking forward to coming to Lucknow for the food," Ashwin chuckles. "We're very pumped up about the festival and all our fans being there to support us!" he adds.
WCMT will subsequently come out with three more songs. They're wrapping up a long tour in India and, next, embarking on a UK Tour at some of the most prestigious venues in May.
To catch the band live in Lucknow, people, book your tickets now!
When: April 9, 7 PM onwards
Where: Phoenix Palassio, Lucknow
To get all the latest content, download our mobile application. Available for both iOS & Android devices.