The imagine paragons

One listen to Bengaluru-based indie rock band The Imaginary News, and you’ll find that they’re a refreshing change from the innumerable others trying to make a mark on the national musical scene. With their sound being a perfectly addictive mix of influences like The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The La’s, it’s no wonder that the outfit, has gone from strength to strength.

Currently gearing up to launch their debut album, Time’s On Your Side, the five-member group has got its hands full; but regular gigs are something they manage to make time for. “Music is about expression. You play what you want to hear,” begins singer/songwriter Ranganathan, who started the band, along with keyboardist, Raghav Sarathy back in 2011.

“In the beginning, it was a very slow process. We’d just catch up at one of our friends’ homes over a drink and have impromptu jam sessions. Soon it became a regular affair and at one of these sessions, we decided to make it public.

That’s how it all began,” recounts Ranganathan. The outfit is completed by Vinay Prasad (guitars), Abheet Anand (bass) and Preran Gulvady (drums). A motley crew comprising a mechanical engineer (Raghav), a content management professional (Vinay), a college student (Abeeth), a graduate (Preran) and a full time music teacher (Ankit), their music is a cocktail of varied sounds that come together beautifully.

Set to perform at blueFROG Bangalore on January 31, before they head off to a seven-city tour to promote their album, Ranganathan gives us a sneak peek into what to expect at the gig. “We’re going to be performing the whole album, consisting of six songs. In addition, we’ll also be performing some new material that does not feature on the album,” reveals the young man, who trained to be a pilot, but turned his back on the profession after deciding to take up music full time.

Taking a year and a half to complete, the album consist of songs written by Ranganathan from his teenage years, with the underlying theme being love.

“Relationships, love and experiences in love are what the album speaks about. We’re hoping it resonates with not just the Bengaluru audience but at the national level too,” he says, signing off.