Rockers Them Clones mark 16 years in music with an Electronic remix of their popular, decade-old track, Zephyretta with Valencia-based producer Samrat B
Vocalist Prithwish Dev from Them Clones
Vocalist Prithwish Dev from Them Clones
Electronic music is seeping its way into Indian rock in more ways than one. Them Clones, one of the most loved Rock bands of the country, is set to celebrate 16 years of music with a groovy electronic version of their track Zephyretta. The Soft Rock number features in Rolling Stone India's list of '25 greatest Indian rock songs of the last 25 years'.
The remix comes from Samrat B a.k.a Audio Pervert, a DJ producer who shuttles between Delhi and Valencia, Spain.
Part of the original Bombay Black collective, he is an old friend of the band. Coincidentally, he has been involved with the indie music culture of India for 16 years too. As a musician, Samrat has spent the last decade expanding his creative zeal with synthesisers, drum machines and computers, steadily developing a repertoire for sound-design in various media — Bollywood, indie bands, progressive electronic music groups, and songwriters — further inspired by interactive audio-video installations, using new media tools.
The band at the Clone Fest. pics courtesy/Rahul Lal & Rohit Lal
He has collaborated as a producer, mix engineer and remix agent with Da Saz, Sulk Station, Donn Bhat, Sridhar & Thayil, Saba Azad and Hashback Hashish.
Junk the rock vibes
Samrat wished to revisit the single and articulate it from his point of view, when Clones — their nickname by rock fans — and he got together for a corporate show some time back. Ask Samrat why he chose Zephyretta among the Clones' large decade-and-a-half repertoire, and he says, "It's one of their best songs. The vocal melody and the lyrics struck an idea in my head. I wanted to junk the Rock vibes and give the existing song a new definition or energy. I've created an extended dancefloor version after making the artistic remix; hope the fans get on the electro mania." In its second week, the stunning downtempo track continues to feature in the Best of the Week list on Apple Music.
Breezy origin
For a fan of the Indie music scene in the country, it is nearly impossible to be unaware of the iconic Rock song. Its first cut was first released in 2005 on one of the Great Indian Rock compilation CDs, and later on their album Love.Hate.Heroes in 2009. The video came out much later in 2012. A play on the word zephyr, which means a soft gentle breeze, Zephyretta is not a word you will find in the dictionary. Judging by the lyrics, the suffix -etta implies a shorter form of the original word. "A short gust of breeze is what it would be," says drummer Surojit Dev.
So influential was the single that it has spanned multiple cover versions. Most recently, New Delhi duo The Midnight Jam Project, which has Sanjeeta Bhattacharya of the Berklee Indian Ensemble on vocals, made an acoustic cover. Mumbai's multi-genre progressive Rock group Candyflip Sundae reimagined
it in the segment Music Mojo for Kappa TV.
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