Music
aswekeepsearching's top 10 post-rock songs
The band's favourite tracks include works from artists such as Cloudkicker, Mogwai and Tycho among others.
Across three releases – including their latest one, Zia (stream it here) – Ahmedabad/Pune post-rock band aswekeepsearching have exhibited just how much depth the once-dismissed genre has, in terms of sonic experimentation.
Their debut release Growing Suspicion (2014) had a more straightforward influence of mingling Hindi vocals with straightforward guitar-led instrumental rock, while their debut album Khwaab took to a lot of ambient layering championed by the likes of Mogwai and God Is an Astronaut (both noted influences for Aswekeepsearching). Their third offering Zia is a tad more experimental and boundary-pushing – with Indian instruments like the tabla (Sambit Chatterjee) and the sitar (Rishabh Sen) – but also gives special emphasis to a string section (violinist-producer Ajay Jayanthi), which might just make it alluring for fans of Japan’s Mono or Sweden’s Ef.
For a band that crafts especially evocative songs, we asked them about which post-rock songs light up their eyes and mind. Here are 10 from frontman Uddipan Sarmah, bassist Bob Alex, drummer Gautam Deb and guitarist Shubham Gurung
Glories - 'Not Everything Not Yet'
Uddipan: The emotions! This was the first ever post-rock song that caught me real deep. I couldn’t stop playing it again and again. No song made me feel the way this did. Maybe I was in a phase or overwhelmed with emotions that were pinched by this song. But yes, it got me crying. I discovered it over YouTube and immediately bought the album on Bandcamp. I love the way the band writes their music.
Inward Oceans - 'Field of White'
Bob: This is an artist that a friend had recently suggested, so I played it while I was going on a drive and instantly fell in love with it. It's been playing almost every day since.
Tides Of Man - 'Young And Courageous'
Shubham: Excellent production, great songwriting. This song and the album was the perfect example of what we would've liked to achieve in terms of sound and the 'feel' of the track itself back in 2014-15. It helped us change and influence the way we wrote songs, especially for our first album Khwaab.
Mogwai - 'Auto Rock'
Gautam: It’s a song of love for me, because I'd just started dating a beautiful girl then. It signifies the first six months of any relationship – the excitement, the adrenaline all are in sync with the dynamics of this gorgeous song.
Cloudkicker - 'You and Yours'
Bob: I have an affinity towards music that is cinematic, that tends to have a build-up or a crest and a trough, so to speak, and this song has just that. It starts off huge, and pulls down the pace midway to this spacey, beautiful groove and melody.
65daysofstatic – 'The Undertow'
Uddipan: I’ve always loved this song. I’ve watched this video a thousand times, maybe. The dynamics and melody of the song got me hooked. But the day I watched them play the same number live, oh my God! They won me in every possible way. They are so intense on stage with this song. I could do nothing but stand still watching them play.
Tycho - 'A Walk'
Gautam: There’s no story to this. I just love this timeless song. I can listen to this at any phase of my life
White Moth Black Butterfly - 'Ties Of Grace'
Shubham: During the initial stages of writing the very first song (The Tattva) for our EP, this song came in as an eye-opener in the ambient/electronica side of things, which again influenced us a lot in the composition aspect of the EP.
Hammock – 'Clarity'
Uddipan: With this one too, maybe it’s my favourite because of the phase I was going through. This song fit in so well then. The energy and focus I wanted, this song let me have all that. I like simplicity and being minimal, this song has both. To me, in my life, this song brought clarity.
Cloudkicker – 'Explore, be curious'
Gautam: Back in 2012, I had quit my job after six months and I'd just moved to Mumbai to make a career in music. Life was quite clueless (for me), with Rs 5,000 in my bank account and rent and food to pay for. I was determined to do music full-time and this song somehow reminds me of those aimless days. Explore, be curious.
To learn more about the songs on aswekeepsearching's latest album, Zia, check out our track-by-track breakdown here.
