“Naya zamana” means a new generation or a new time; the latter is how the four twenty-something-year-olds that make up the Mumbai-based rap band Aavrutti describe their music as an ensemble. Incidentally, it is also the title of their new album.
Supported by Gully Gang India and DIVINE, the 11-track album, with its foot-tapping, beat-heavy, lyrical compositions, also says as much — a wake-up call to the new generation.
The easy-going young Mumbaikars — Sledge (22), Sammohit (21), Saifan and Frenzzy (20) — joined hands to form a rap crew three years ago, having been making music independently as early as 2016. The idea of forming a professional crew started when Sledge and Sammohit found each other’s work on YouTube and decided to jam. Frenzzy and Saifan (who were in the same college at the time) joined soon after.
Of their first brush with rap — for all of them, it was during their school days — Saifan says, “I was 15 when I listened to rap for the first time. My friend in school introduced me to the genre and I thought, ‘Kitna sahi hai!’ (How cool is that!). I slowly started writing myself.” Sammohit was in Class VII when he got hooked on rap thanks to Honey Singh’s ‘Dope Shope’. By the time he reached Class X, he had already written his first song. Frenzzy was in Class IX when he took an interest in rap. He now writes in Punjabi. “Because of this, I had failed in Class IX, and my family was not happy,” he laughs. Sledge adds: “I heard hip hop songs for the first time through speakers that were set in my street, and realised that there were other genres in music apart from Bollywood. It was a revelation.”
Matching frequencies
The quartet hope to pioneer a new wave in the Indian hip hop scene. “We want to be the sound of the new generation of Indian hip hop. We wish to be relatable and talk more about our own lives, streets and people,” says Sammohit. Saifan adds: “Having said that, evolving thoughts and observations will also reflect on our music.”
Complementing each other makes work an easy process for the four of them, says Frenzzy. The idea being in sync and matching each other’s frequency is also a reason why they named their band Aavrutti (which means frequency).
Two tracks from the album — ‘Stage’, the single that talks about backstage shenanigans, and ‘Error 404’, the track which is an abstract take on the mistakes one does in life — were released last month. The title track ‘Naya Zamana’ marked the album’s official launch. The video song, which bursts with colour and hip hop moves by the Mumbai-based dance crew, Famous Family, travels through Mumbai’s gullies. The idea was to feature their surroundings, people and, in effect, their identity. The album was in the making for one-and-a-half years, the band members say.
“Each of the 11 songs has its unique emotion,” says Sledge, adding that lockdown only aided their creative process and led to a lot of self-introspection. Are there any more projects in the pipeline? “Yahaan din bhar gaana banta hain (Here, songs are made every day). But we can’t really say if they all will make an album or not. We take it as it comes,” concludes Saifaan.
The title track, ‘Naya Zamana’, is available on Aavrutti’s YouTube channel