The premises of Zobet on Camac Street was packed with lovers of Bollywood music as Twin Strings was on stage for the first time in the city. Hailing from New Delhi, the indie band has been making music since 2015. The gig at Zobet was their way of starting their Khabar tour with the next two stops being Bangalore and Gurgaon. The band — comprising Sagar, Sahil, Manav and Mohit Deen —has made a name for themselves with their tasteful rendition of songs as well as originals.
On September 9 they presented originals like Dhalti Rahe, Tujse hoti hai subeh, Doorie and, their recent release, Khabar. Here’s a chat with the band.
How does it feel to be in Kolkata?
It feels great; it is one of our favourite cities and this is our first public show. We are very excited about this one.
You have also started Khabar Tour. I’m sure touring excites the group....
Yes! Touring with original songs is something we are always looking forward to and now that’s happening. We are super-charged and have a new set for everyone.
Although this is a three-city tour, after a point touring can get hectic. How do you take care of yourselves?
It’s going to be hectic. We plan to eat healthy and try to maintain our sleep cycle.
Your song Khabar was released two months ago. What’s the story behind it?
Khabar was written to express the universal feeling of being in love while one person in the relationship ignores all the signs. The inspiration for the song was easy to find because we all have been through that situation at some point in our lives.
What is it about the audience in Kolkata that you enjoy?
This is the city of art and music. The audience here is very intelligent. They look into small details of a song and when people from Kolkata appreciate our music, it feels great.
How did Twin Strings come together? What inspired the name?
There’s no inspiration as far as the name goes. We have twins in the band and we say, “When twins added strings to the band.” It just became Twin Strings.
You have covers as well as original songs. While performing a cover song, what’s that “thing” that makes a rendition different?
When we like a song, we want to cover it our way. We never think of matching our rendition to the original song. We put our heart into every project, be it an original or a cover.
What’s coming up?
We have lots of original video shoots lined up.
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
What they thought
Guitarist Adil Rashid was present in the audience. “I wasn’t aware of the band and was pleasantly surprised with the performance. Twin Strings is a very good, versatile band with a strong emphasis on melody and a good mix of covers and originals. I’m following them now and hope to see more of their material and performances in the future,” he said.
