Prog-rock outfit The Milgram Experiment to release their debut album this summer

The  Milgram Experiment is perhaps the youngest progressive rock band on Kolkata’s indie circuit. Consisting of four fresh college grad rockers and a teenage drumming prodigy, the band, which is only a year-old, is a part of the city’s finest line-ups. If that isn’t enough reason for you to keep up with them, the band is also set to release their debut album very soon with lead guitarist Samrat Sen. The Milgram Experiment also recently performed at Kolkata’s first sustainability festival, Oxygen. We caught up with the band a day before their gig, and got them to spill the beans on their set list. 

“For Oxygen, we plan to play six songs from our upcoming album, City of Paranoia. We are in the process of recording these numbers right now,” the band’s vocalist and keyboardist Souvik Dutta tells us. The band also performed at the one-day music festival, One Live: Calcutta, this March, where they shared stage with acts like Classic Kid Sid, Girish and The Chronicles and Ritviz. Souvik tells us that finding the right people for the band was perhaps their biggest task, especially since their full-length 10-track album only took wings after the band could assemble the right crew. “We came up with the idea for our debut album in 2016 itself, but we struggled quite a bit to find people who could bring it to life,” Souvik recalls. 

Interestingly, The Milgram Experiment was conceptualised when most of the members were a part of another band. Souvik tells us that he, along with the band’s rhythm/riff guitarist Saptashwa Ganguly and bassist Amit Dutta had formed a band called Necropsy in 2016, when they were all still in college. “It’s interesting how we got started. Saptashwa, Amit and I started this groove metal band called Necropsy around three years ago. We tried to do something different with it but then, of course, we pursued a different vision and formed The Milgram Experiment in March last year. At that point, we were really looking for a drummer and some permanent members. We had a breakthrough with our newest crew, especially drummer Abir Chatterjee, who is just 16 years old. He’s exceptionally gifted,” notes the singer. 

Their debut outing, City Of Paranoia, is a concept album in the making and has an amazing theme. The album is basically focused on the life of a fictional, dystopian dictator named Monsquiro. “We try to emulate the characters from the album to give the right taste to the audience, or what we call our ‘subjects’. It’s about living the life that’s already been lived,” Souvik tells us. 

Most independent college bands from the city do not stay together long enough to see any measurable amount of success or growth. Which is why the year-long trajectory of The Milgram Experiment can be perceived as stunning. “We have seen bands from the city working hard and trying to make it, and eventually giving up. So, to be able to actually do what we’re doing feels amazing. It feels like quite a dream. We definitely have plans to take the band further,” adds Souvik.