All hail the Begum

Dream pop, lo-fi, waltz, is what their music is usually called, but Delhi-based band Begum like to add ‘11th century seduction sounds’ to their repertoire as well. The three-member band featuring Karthik Pillai, Tushar Mohan and Karan Singh has recently launched its second album —We Are Excited. They talk about their new album, music and more.

Karthik says, “It is born of the same lo-fi ethic, but seems more likeable and friendly as compared to our first album Bagh. We Are Excited has faint bits of different genres ranging from indie pop, hints of post rock, to even punk, sprinkled over the established dreamy, waltz skeleton.”

The undertone of sarcasm is evident in their music. Sharing the story behind the idea, Karthik states, “In our latest album we talk about the present day situations the world is facing. Also, the name went well with the story — of how a mysterious spirit animal came to us one evening as we brandished our instruments and debated world semantics. After much jubilation he broke down and began to speak of the troubles in his world and how the darkness didn’t allow him to exist in peace. We asked him how he traveled between these two worlds. He told us of a way to travel between dimensions. He also tricks us into travelling to his dimension because he was weary of the state of his planet.”

Talking about the name of the band, they say, “We named it after the empress because she did not have a gender — she is an intangible object which rules our dimension; she is fair and kind. That’s why we named the band after her.”

Most of the tracks are born out of jam sessions, shares Tushar. He continues, “What you hear on the album is a product of whatever happens in the jam room. The whole idea of our music is the first connection. The title track of this album, for example, is just one of the jam sessions that ended up on the record as it was.”

Going forward, they plan to come-up with musical theatre production along with focussing on their music.

“It is just in a planning process. I am writing the script but it will take a little time. It is not that simple, the theatre productions are complex. It will be a one-act show. We are targeting next year for the first production. Alongside, we are also planning to come up with singles and EPs before our next album,” concludes Karthik.