Motion/Emotion took a year and six days in the making, twenty-three food platters a week, and seventy-two supportive people—says the Soundcloud page of progressive band Tangents. Ask the Bengaluru-based act about this production news and they break out in laughter about their secretive white lie. “The feel and look around Metal as a genre is way too serious. It’s a very alpha-male thing, especially in India, but we as individuals are not that,” explains vocalist Siddharth Nair, about why even their social media page sports distorted information. We catch up with the three-piece ensemble—comprising Siddharth Nair, bassist Abheet Anand, and drummer Daniel Ancheril—to know more about their month-old EP featuring seven tracks.
Setting the momentum
Having played multiple gigs around Bengaluru—including opening for Australian progressive metallers Ne Obliviscaris at IIMB—Tangents sure have had their stage time before coming together for an album. Raise a question on the intriguing title of the seven-track EP and they have a lot to say. “Four of the songs connect a particular physical or mental condition with a related, yet opposite emotion. The song Inevitable deals with schizophrenia, while the two-part song Avalanche deals with blindness. In the latter—unlike a usual metal song which would connect it to nihilism—our blind protagonist views darkness as a utopia,” explains Siddharth. The trio’s playful nature shines through in tracks titled Surface and Verge, themed on the Star Wars universe.
Bending rhythms
Sonically, the act combines progressive heavy metal with melodic solos and interludes, not to mention their odd-time signature breakdowns. The line-up for the album also sports four collaborations with vocalists and guitarists including Yogeendra Hariprasad, who brings in Carnatic influences in the song Verge. A member of the Bengaluru-based progressive outfit Pineapple Express, he doubles up as the producer of Motion/Emotion. The ensemble also finds a way to convey their frustrations about the struggles of upcoming musicians in the production—in the form of a surprise element.
Stream the album here: soundcloud.com/tangents-india/sets/motionemotion