TWO different genres, two different people and a gamut of influences is giving the city-based band Mondegreen a new direction in Kolkata’s soundscape. Assamese boy Rohan Chakraborty and city girl Nabanita Sarkar are set to launch their debut single soon. Their single Uruguay, which has a mysterious theme, will be establishing the universe of Mondegreen. Nabanita, who has hopped from one genre to another before finally settling with folk music says, “Uruguay is a little mysterious. It’s the reflection of our mind. Mondegreen is still in the process of discovering itself and so is the song. However, the song has a friendly vibe to it. It goes like Come with me, hum a little tune.”
What is striking about the duo — both university students — is that they are managing gigs as well as their academic commitments. A law student, Nabanita avers that she becomes very creative during her examination and most of her songs are born during that time. Uruguay is also a result of that. The final year student of Hazra Law College says, “Right before my semester I get creative and that’s when I start fidgeting with ukulele and lyrics.”
The final year student of English Literature at Rabindra Bharati University, Rohan is more into jazz and he believes the single cannot be simply put under one specific genre of music. “It definitely has elements of jazz and American folk but it also has influences of all kinds of music that we have been hearing and playing. For instance, I have grown up listening to Bengali folk music apart from being mostly into jazz, and Nabanita has shuffled in metal, blues and even bluegrass bands,” says Rohan, who plays the guitar.
Mondegreen’s real talent lies in compressing the varied music with their songwriting skills to just ukulele and guitar, making the duo a delight to listen to. Mondegreen once a three-member band (till guitarist Atandra Chakraborty left the band last month) is happy being a duo now. The band, which is not even a year old, is looking forward to launching an EP followed by a music video. Ambitious and optimistic, the pair strives to continue their musical journey as passionately as they are doing it now.