A sheer case of 'perfect' timing

They like to keep it real, raw and frills-free. Bengaluru band Perfect Strangers was formed in the year 2013, and it wasn’t long until their vibe synced with unbridled music buffs across the country. Exactly five years later, they launched their debut album, A Strange Connection, early  last week. The album, inspired by real life conversations, took a year to transpire into reality. Touching upon topics like the ‘Selfie mania’,  letting go of toxic relationships and stimagtisation of the Queer community; the idea behind it all sprouted out of a need to break away from the shackles – of what’s considered ‘ perfect’. Barely a week since the album launch, and the band is prepping for an eight-city tour across India in November. We get chatty.

“There was no agenda behind the creation of A Strange Connection. The whole album is inspired by 80s music, and we wanted to focus on different aspects of life, while keeping the happy vibe,” begins Debjeet Basu, guitarist of the band. The album, which took a year to transpire into reality, aims to give listeners a reality check about the lives they lead. Speaking of which, Pranav adds,

“Some of the tracks  address contemporary issues, like the cycle of abuse in toxic relationships (Blow-Up Doll), another track titled the Selfie is a satirical take on whether what you appear to be is who you actually are.  Every song has a very strong meaning, and is written based on the life experiences of the band members.

We’d like to believe that our music encomprises elements of pop, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues and jazz.” The band is optimistic about striking a chord with listeners of a broad spectrum. But. there’s also a lot of buzz around their eight city tour. Of which, Debjeet shares, “Yes, the plan is to travel extensively across India’s metropolitan cities i.e. Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and the like. We plan on performing our originals as well as songs from our debut album. This will be followed by some brainstorming sessions of ways to rustle up more interesting and exciting music for the times ahead.”

With 15k followers on their official Facebook page, the band’s social media marketing is on point. Prior to the gig on September 15, which marked the album’s launch, the band was promoting unique merchandise on their page.

The band, which has created a niche for itself, hopes to do a lot for the music scene in general. “There’s no denying that we have received tremendous support since day one. Most of the metros have often been very kind to us. With the support comes the motivation  to work harder. That said, we are also looking at making a place for ourselves in the music video industry,” shares Debjeet.

With a brand new album and a multi-city tour on the cards; exciting times lie ahead for the band. “We don’t intent to go viral, if it does, great. But, the whole idea of conjuring up an album like this was to build a connect with a listener irrespective of his/ her age or what they are going through. All the eight tracks have something in store for everyone. We hope the tracks are relatable and people who take time out to listen to us feel it’s worth it,” Pranav signs off.