Lo-fi Punks Hoirong to Launch New Album 'Mwah'

If you’re in Delhi and you like lo-fi aesthetics, dance-punk or noise, then there’s only one place for you to be tonight. Lo-fi disco punks Hoirong are launching their third full length - titled Mwah - at Summer House Cafe, New Delhi. Joining them on the lineup are Karajimo, the electronic music project of veteran New Delhi guitarist and producer Viraj Mohan, who has also mixed the Hoirong record. And if that’s not enough to get you excited, the night will also feature a special one-off set by New Delhi prog-alt veterans Another Vertigo Rush (AVR), their first live performance since 2012. What more could you want from a free gig?

Artwork for Hoirong's 'Mwah'

The much anticipated Mwah comes over a year and a half after the band released its critically acclaimed sophomore LP Dandaniya Apraadh. In the meantime, the band has seen a couple of line-up changes, with the departure of Samar Singh and the addition of Avinash Moli on bass. The 14 tracks on the album stay true to Hoirong’s signature mix of punk songwriting, guitar feedback and noise-rock, but made slightly more accessible and polished by Mohan’s production skills. Tracks like Saraswastika and Grant Hill Drinks Sprite hark back to Kamal’s love for 90s punk rock, while others like Peacock - with its shehnai+feedback solo combo - point to the sense of playful experimentation that has always set this band apart.

In his typically flippant and jokey manner, Hoirong frontman Kamal Singh tells me, “the new album is lovely, like a gently submerged basuki. This time it’s produced better thanks to Viraj Mohan and Keshav Dhar. Also, the drums are recorded live for the first time.”

Hoirong

Speaking of what to expect from the set, Singh says: “The set will have a few old Grammy and Billboard Hits and songs from the new album which will also soon be on the charts.”

“Karajimo was going to be the opening act for the gig anyway,” says Viraj Mohan, talking about the surprise AVR set. “And suddenly I realised that between the two bands all the AVR members will be playing, so why not do an AVR set as well?”

“We’re playing our old school songs, not any of our new stuff,” he adds, hinting that we might get new AVR music in the near future.

Gates open at 9pm. Summer House Cafe, Aurobindo Market, New Delhi. Free Entry.