The Hip-Hop genre has seen a steady yet surprising surge in popularity in the Indian music scenario. The catchy beats and the ability to urge the listener to move and dance to its tunes is one of the primary reasons for the genre’s popularity. Recent times have seen a growth in hip-hop outfits that unfurl their imaginative and creative wings while associating with this genre. A perfect example would be “Till Apes”. This Bangalore based neo-soul/hip-hop unit is unique when it comes to imposing a definitive sound that associates with the band.
Till Apes, short for “Till All People Evolve Slightly”, have been making a name for itself ever since the release of their live performance video back in 2018 which earned several critical acclaims, thereby cementing their foundations in the indie scene. The subsequent releases from the band turned a lot of heads owing to their unique and distinctive sound in the world of hip-hop. The band’s sound owes its unique characteristic to the instrument arrangement and their creative and innovative usage to usher in a variety and subtle beauty to their music. The band’s lineup includes Amrith Raghunathan (Doc.Awes) on guitars, bass, and production, Sange Wangchuk on drums, Soorya Praveen on bass, guitars, synths and arrangements, Hanumankind on vocals, Philip John on keys and Gautam David on the saxophone.
The band’s debut EP “Lift Off” is a beautiful amalgamation of groovy beats and mellow tunes that work as a couple of the many reasons that makes this album a work of art. The entire EP holds testament to the fact that the writing process involved an expansion in their creative limits and the band’s decision to venture into unexplored segments of the music world. This resulted in a 8-track experience that presents to the listener a magnificent interweaving of elements of jazz, R&B, hip-hop and soul sprinkled with funk and groovy beats that work to serve the band’s primary purpose: to make people move. The magnificence of the instruments and the unorthodox conceptualizations that are engrained in this EP has been complimented by the vocals that acts as a cherry on top of the cake.
Till Apes can be pegged as the band that people would turn to in order to get a wholesome experience of beats that would urge them to dance while being awe-struck at the level of musical mastery emitting from the song. The band is unparalleled in their ability to make the kind of innovative music that they do and definitely deserves the positive attention that it’s receiving.
