Retro-rock band The Jiverz is built on a simple philosophy — bring retro music to GenZ. And while they are at it, they also want to “revive” the city’s live music scene. Sayan Mukerji, who is a retired corporate man, started The Jiverz in the summer of 2022. It was a time when the world was under lockdown due to Covid-19 and social interaction had gone digital.
The Jiverz had their first performance at a jazz club in the city. On the setlist they had Sade, Roberta Flack, J.J. Cale, Dire Straits, Ben E. King, Eagles, Bill Withers and more — all retro rock from the 1970s and the 80s. The six-member band has Mukerji on bass guitar, Tilak Kundu on drums and vocals, Kushal Kundu on guitar and vocals, Gordon Anderson on guitars, Renfred Anderson on vocals and keyboards, Kaushik Sen on percussion and Sucheta Sanyal on vocals.
Sayan Mukerji
Mukerji tells The Telegraph, “We want active listening.” But why would listeners, especially young listeners, come for covers of songs they can easily find on streaming platforms? His reply, “The magic is in going analogue!”
Going analogue refers to a cultural movement that encourages young people to get off their phones and laptops and consume art in real time, in person. The US media has dubbed 2026 the year of analogue lifestyle.
Kushal Kundu
Mukerji says, “The music we play is somewhat unfamiliar to youth today but not entirely. Many would have heard them, courtesy parents and grandparents. It’s what would have been playing at home on a Sunday morning, dominating the
entirety of old cassette or vinyl collections.”
Music from the period Mukerji is referring to was something you could touch, and hold in your hands. The vinyl art, the cassette and LP covers were something you could possess. Spotify and iTunes have changed that. Today, we follow artistes via streaming platforms and rely on algorithms to find new music. This is what passes for “discovering” new music. The Jiverz offers an alternative.
Gordon Anderson
We customise LED screens with LP covers, CD covers, vinyl jackets and a lot more. Each of our performances comes with a production,” says Mukerji. “This is all to give our listeners a feel of the analogue music era, so youngsters can identify with it.”
The band has had 33 concerts over the last three years; most of them in club circuits across the city. They did a special production on Christmas at Allen Park, another on Independence Day at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Calcutta, called the “Freedom” concert. They have also performed at the Delhi Golf Club and the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad.
Renfred Anderson
“While performing outside Calcutta, we realised that there is a dearth of retro rock bands in our country,” says Mukerji. “You’d think there is no audience for it; we thought so too. Especially in a place like Delhi. But they all vibed with us, grooving to Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
Tilak Kundu
Gordon Anderson says, “The music that is made today has a heavy influence of AI and technology. The music that we play is more reliant on heavy instruments and the performance of it all.” Adds Kushal Kundu, “Classical rock music still holds a lot of influence and will continue to shape the future.”
Yes, all songs are just a click away. But who will nudge GenZ to push the button and choose retro rock over whatever is trending on social media? “When I perform, I just hope that on their way home, when they inevitably pull out the earbuds and browse Spotify, for a change, they will listen to what we play,” says Mukerji. “We are giving them an alternative to modern music, or you could say a reintroduction.”