How Parikrama's new single is driven by the cause of organ donation

With their latest single that focuses on organ donation, big daddies of Indian rock, Parikrama, step into a new phase to reach out to a changing demographic in a digital age

They are grey, old warhorses of the Indian rock scene. When they emerged in the 1990s, Sachin Tendulkar was the man of the moment. Now, Virat Kohli is passing on the mantle to Yashaswi Jaiswal. Yet, Parikrama has set their sights on an evolution to the next phase. Their latest single, Translucent night, which released last week, marks the first of three releases to come this year.

“We are hunting in packs of three,” jokes Subir Malik, founder and organist of the Delhi-based band. The single is their first release since the 2019 track, Tears of the wizard — the last track to feature the late Sonam Sherpa.

“We never had a strategy of recording and selling albums,” Malik shares. It is an unspoken code engraved into the rebellious nature of the rock band. “We used to perform at college fests, and still do not mind anyone recording our tracks and sharing it,” he says. But with few festivals hosting rock bands, times are changing.

Subir Malik. Pics Courtesy/Abhishek Gupta (@mikig2)

There is a story to every song, Malik points out. Translucent night was driven by the cause of organ donation. “Do you know that despite the size of our population, we have the lowest number of organ donors in the world?”, the musician asks. Having pledged his own organs back in school, he adds that it was the epiphany of reading an article about organ donation that spurred the idea for the new song.

A rock band should not do half-measures. Keeping with the theme, every member has pledged to donate their own organs. “In fact, even for the video, we decided that the crew would only work on the video if they pledged their organs,” Malik reveals. They also did away with any actors, and featured real-life organ donors.

The slow burn ballad is worth the wait though. The guitars (Saurabh Chaudhry and Abhishek Mittal) and bass (Gaurav Balani) bring in textures and a melodic depth that flow beautifully. There are layers of the Hammond organ (Malik) and drums (Srijan Mahajan) to go with Nitin Malik’s moving vocals. The complete audio for the song will be released on August 13 commemorating World Organ Donation Day.

It is a learning experience, the founder adds. “While playing live, I would just keep to one layer on the keys. Now, I have the time to add some strings or add an organ to it. Studios give you the liberty,” he further shares.

(From left) Subir Malik, Saurabh Chaudhry, Nitin Malik, Abhishek Mittal, Srijan Mahajan and Gaurav Balani in a still from the music video

This has also meant a new creative spurt for the band. The next track, Demons of time, is already mixed and mastered. “It is part of our Lord Of The Rings trilogy,” Malik says. Huge fans of the series, the band created one song to match each film. “Am I dreaming was inspired by the first film, Fellowship of The Ring, Tears of the wizard was inspired by Gandalf the Grey in the second film. Demons of time is an allusion to the third and final chapter,” he says.

The two tracks are part of six tracks, now ready to release. The announcements will follow the release of Translucent night’s complete audio. While they want to create new music, the demand for the classics has not ceased. “We will perhaps release Open skies as part of the series,” Malik reveals, but points out that it will be new compositions they are at work on. “You can be sure of that,” he signs off.
 
Log on to: Translucent night on Spotify; YouTube; Apple music

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