Lounge Piranha is an alternative-experimental band from Bangalore. They have one full-length album to their credit, Going Nowhere, which released in 2008. The band is signed to Mongrel Records. Recently they played at the NH7 festival, Pune. Vocalist Kamal Singh speaks about the band and the bonding.

All well at the Lounge Piranha camp? How did it all begin? Give us a piece of your history.

Abhi and George were jamming, then I joined them on Sundays and the jams were good. So we decided to get a bass player and write songs etc. I guess that also meant that we were becoming a band.

Tell us about the band members, past and present? How would you define your music and which genres do Lounge Piranha touch?

Rohan moved on to attend to his medical needs. Shalini fills in for him now. The rest are still the same. Pervez does the didj, Morsing the flute and anything else that he finds interesting enough. Rahul Giri (Tron) does Going Nowhere and whatever else happening whenever he is available. Abhi is with guitar, vocals and George on the drums. I too am with guitar and vocals.

I think we are basically an alternative rock band and, more recently, we have found ourselves playing Noise, Punk, and Pop.

The band is also known for live acts. How is it all planned?

We have used projections at gigs before. That may be one reason for gossip. Sometimes I think the ranting and sarcasm also get attention. George is responsible for the art.

Your debut effort Going Nowhere, released in 2008, was well received. Were the sales at par with your expectations or above it?

We didn't make the album with a sales plan or something, it was for those who wanted to take our music home. We still sell the cd.

Who amongst you handles the song writing process and what are the inspirations or events that make you pen down these words?

Abhi and I write lyrics. Inspiration can come from anything – experiences, places, weather, rain, plants, birds, elephants, death, flowers, street lights….

Handhole remains the crowd's favorite. Did you think that this song would go down so well with your fans? Tell us how the song came about? Has the band thought about writing a song that would be able to beat Handhole in every term?

Songs come when they want to and sometimes we just get lucky. I don't think anyone can beat songs or anything like that. Maybe there are people who can – I don't know. I'm happy that I see people closing their eyes and singing along. Beyond that there is nothing I want to even consider

I wrote the song long before the LP was formed, somewhere around 2001-02. It was part of my solo project 3 sevens then. I was also playing with a punk/alt band called Snotball.

Gopal Navale (Freedom jam/Sunday jam) helped us record aSnotball version of Handhole. It sounded cool but I wanted to either keep it acoustic or re-arrange it with a big chorus only at the end. Then at one of the jams, Gopal played the recording, and a few minutes later there was a Lounge Piranha version.

In the coming months where can your fans catch you live? Also, anything concerning the second album that you would want to share with us?

At the usual gigs that we have always played.

The second album (as many would have begun to understand) will be very very different from Going Nowhere.It is a sound that we began working on and developing in Rohan's absence.

Which Indian band music manages to turn you on? Name some stages across the world that Lounge Piranha would love to hit.

I like Scribe, Sulk Station, Eximious, No Safe Word, Pink Can't remember anymore.…All the world is a stage.

Tell our readers as to why they should listen to your music?

I don't know why they should listen to our music … it would be great if they did.

It will make us happy

(The writer blogs at www.absurdhistory.wordpress.com and mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)