The Yellow Diary from Mumbai is an alternative pop-rock band that creates original music feted for its fresh sounds. Comprising Himonshu Parikh (music production, keyboard, backing vocals), Rajan Batra (vocals, lyrics), Vaibhav Pani (guitar), Sahil Shah (drums) and Stuart DaCosta (bass), the band has two EPs to its name, Marz and Izafa, and they just launched a new single, Rab Raakha. Ahead of their gig in the city, we spoke with them about their music and more. Excerpts:
Tell us about your latest single, Rab Raakha.
The song was written in 2017 in a very spur-of-the-moment jam session, as while were experimenting with a new synth. Himonshu played a chord progression that instantly inspired Rajan, and the song was completed in a few hours.
Why the name The Yellow Diary?
Our songs are pages drawn from our experiences, and that of the people close to us. It is just penning our thoughts in a diary. The colour yellow has various connotations. It is a very mysterious colour, ranging from happy and bright to dark, but can also represent cynicism and physical illness. As yellow showcases a gradient from dark to bright, our music reflects a similar array of emotions, making each song like a different page in a diary.
You are known for your soulful music and poetry rock. Tell us about the philosophy behind your music?
Our process is very spur-of-themoment. The song may spark off from a guitar riff by Vaibhav Pani, a keyboard chord progression by Himonshu, or even a bassline and groove by Sahil or Stuart — and from this will, eventually, emerge a seed idea for a song that we diligently record onto a voice note, and turn into a song. That’s pretty much the beginning of the process. From there to the finish line, there have been many different roads to completing a song, but the end goal is whatever works best for the song.
Are you working on something new?
We are constantly in the process of writing new songs, and we have loads of unreleased material. But every song has the right time, and the right platform to release it. For Rab Raakha, we’ll be doing a multicity tour through February-March.
This will be your second time here. How do you find the audience in Kolkata?
We were there recently for the India Story, and loved the experience. It was one of the most receptive audiences we’ve played to. We hope that audiences will listen to our newest release Rab Raakha, and sing along with the music.
What will you play at your concert here?
A bunch of unreleased music, alongside all the music that’s already out, and loved by you guys.
The Yellow Diary will perform at National University of Juridical Sciences on February 9.
sharmishtha.g@new indianexpress.com
@sharmidas