5 Minutes With: Hoirong’s Kamal Singh

“This is the fat and ugly step-sister of pop music, and it's basically sublime.”

Hoirong (we’ve mentioned this before but it means ‘asshole’ in Manipuri, FYI) is one of our favourite bands in Delhi. Of course a large part of their “charm” (for lack of a more appropriate term) is their matchless sound – noisy, abrasive and a lot of fun to listen to live and otherwise. But we can’t deny the fact that a big reason we, and most audioheads in the capital, really love Hoirong is the personality they’ve created around themselves. Satire and a form of truth veiled under a blanket of flippancy, idiocy and irreverence make for a strange identity that hits the nail on the head every time, without ever creating a mood too serious for their offhand punk noise aesthetic.

It stood true for their last ridiculous(ly good) full-length album ‘Dandhaniya Apradh’ as it does for their month old, 3 track ‘The Old Newz’ EP – another skillfully articulated lampoon of Delhi (“Delhi is a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really stupid place to live in” in ‘Dandi’), the government (“I should have written this song when Modi was being elected” in the poignantly titled ‘No Probs Buddy Better Luck Next Time’) and much more.

Hoirong’s new EP cover again features a "chunky" man, this time standing unsuspectingly in the corner, pouting / chewing paan.

Spearheading the outfit, as many of you are aware of is Kamal Singh. Ex member of Lounge Piranha and sole instigator of Hoirong when it started out (for the debut album TROTPOWAHVHP) before his bandmate joined; Singh is a force to be reckoned with. We got in touch with him for an insightful interview about music and much more:

How’s it going?
Hello, yes, very fine thank you.

Where are you right now?
I’m in my house.

What’s your spirit animal?
Pork.

Your biggest pet peeve?
Electronica.

Best thing about being in a band?
You get respect.

And the worst?
From nobody.

Describe Hoirong in a word.
Idiotic.

What would you be doing if you weren’t making music?
Farming.

If you had to kill and eat any one of your bandmates who would it be and why?
I believe in non violence and I heard human meat actually taste like shit.

What’s the last song you listened to?
Wish You Were Here - Avril Lavigne

Your first decree if you became king of the world?
No more elections.

What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you at a gig?
Being snarled at for shouting out days of the week.

Best album cover of all time?
Rage Against The Machine. Their debut album shows a photo of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burning himself to death in Saigon in 1963.

Best music video ever?
Snoop Dogg - Upside Ya Head.

I got 99 problems but a ____ ain’t one.
sheep?

Describe your new EP in three words…
Fresh, nonchalant, smooth.

THE SAME 3 QUESTIONS:

3 most inspirational artists:
Snoop Dogg, Bob Marley, Shania Twain

3 favourite albums of all time:
Dookie - Green Day
Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morrisette
Appetite for Destruction - Guns N Roses

3 favourite artists of the moment:
Ellie Rowsell
Iggy Azalea
Lana Del Rey

Words: Diya Gupta