Two evenings of original music, covers and good vibes made up the music fest, A Bigger Parklife, held on a rooftop decked up with fairy lights in an address near Jadavpur on June 16 and 17. With 13 acts performing, the line-up included Adil Rashid Collective, 22 Days, Fingerstyle, Croonaluna, Rivu, The Big Other and Whale In The Pond. Snapshots...
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Indie band Rejected Cartoons brought on a mix of both originals and covers, with songs such as Amit Trivedi’s Haminastu and Noori’s Saari raat, alongside the groovy yet soulful original Bless Me Fair, “a song about seeking forgiveness with the belief that it’ll be served in the end”. “Our songs have a folk influence featuring instruments like mandolin, dotara, ghungroo, darbuka,” said vocalist Tapasi Bhattacharya.
The Adil Rashid Collective, comprising Adil, Bubbla, Sourish, and Shiva Juthani, belted out compositions such as Moment and Bulgarian Wedding. “Our sound is partly instrumental guitar rock, influenced greatly by the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, but there are also other stylistic variants, such as elements of folk,” said Adil. While Bulgarian Wedding is a fast-paced guitar rock number, Moment is easy-going, with a slightly indie feel, laden with simple melodies and harmonies.
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Durjoy Choudhury’s one-man act won over hearts with a setlist comprising original compositions such as I Came Here To Sell My Dreams, A Love Song In D Major and Lovers In The Rain, a song that takes you back to nights whiled away on park benches, counting “sparkling, shooting stars”.
Surreal dream folk duo The Illegal Project performed a couple of original numbers, including Louisie, Louisie, a song about a girl who’s unable to find her way in life, and Angeline and Her Kite, which was about a friend of theirs who was going through troubles at home.
“The main idea of A Bigger Parklife is to have artistes from the city who might not have a platform yet to showcase their music, along with established acts, of course. A Bigger Parklife proved that people do want this and they’re willing to support us. We just need to carry on the work,” said Whale In The Pond member and festival curator, Sourjyo Sinha.
Text: Puja Basu
Pictures: Rashbehari Das