Bacardi House Party Sessions Season 2 sees inclusion of Amit Trivedi, Mohini Dey as mentors to artists

Last year, artists such as Ritviz, MojoJojo and Gurbax skyrocketed to fame after releasing music via the Bacardi House Party Sessions. There was something unmistakably hyped around their performances at the last edition of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune as well, which saw a full house perhaps waiting on every cue from the producers. For the second season of Bacardi House Party Sessions, however, things have changed. Understandably so, considering the brand value of NH7 Weekender, comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) and its parent company Only Much Louder (OML) have also undergone various brand changes. With AIB dormant and its founders keeping a low profile, a brand like Bacardi is now turning to a mentorship style that gives more to the artists than necessarily worrying about creating a far-reaching hit. “The ethos of Bacardí House Party Sessions stems from the desire to do right by our music creators. Our artists are growing, along with their social profiles, and we see the value in having them host their videos on their own channels and the Bacardí NH7 Weekender platform,” says Anshuman Goenka, the head of marketing at Bacardi India. [caption id=“attachment_6460061” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ape Echoes, one of the acts which is part of the second season of Bacardi House Party Sessions. Facebook/apeechoes[/caption] Film music composer Amit Trivedi, bass whiz Mohini Dey and inimitable vocalist-songwriter Benny Dayal were all roped in to look over new compositions made by an entirely different set of artists for this season. This includes Mumbai’s jazz-informed live electronic group Ape Echoes, alt rock band Pull and producer Zenith’s collaboration with singer-songwriter Charan. It’s an interesting pairing, one that Goenka says was driven by knowing that “each mentor performs across genres.” He adds, “They have an area of interest and a sound that is closest to their heart, which makes it easier to create a synergistic pairing.” The mentors aren’t really collaborators on the track, but there is behind-the-scenes footage of feedback and tweaks mentioned by the likes of Trivedi, Dey and Dayal. Although someone like Trivedi wouldn’t possibly have heard of Pull before, he does know a trend when he sees one. Trivedi said in a statement ahead of the launch of Pull’s track, “Alternative rock, especially combined with Hindi, is on an incline. Bands like Pull have a soothing and a global sound, welcoming the fusion of quirky rhythm and lyrics.” Releasing steadily between February and March, the first release for the new season was ‘Junglee’, by EDM producer Zenith aka Harshit Agarwal and Charan Singh Pathania, who is known in metal circles for his riff work with Providence. While Pathania has worked on ad jingles and more accessible music, ‘Junglee’ was certainly a strong opener for Bacardi House Party Sessions’ second outing, following the vibrant Hindi-hook driven electronic sound with a riveting video about personalities to boot.

The more breezy, acoustic guitar-driven pop-rock song that’s Pull’s ‘Aye Aye’ is notably lush, but what makes it better is the music video, something Bacardi House Party Sessions still champion strongly. In the smooth filtered backdrop of a tourist destination somewhere in South India, director Shirish Tomar and cinematographer Kaushal Shah bring the song to life, strengthening it more than a stand-alone audio listening could have.

The music video productions level up on Ape Echoes’ funky, vocoder-heavy, synth-soaked ‘Hold Tight’, as director Dar Gai teams up with Jim Sarbh once again (after Prateek Kuhad’s ‘Cold/Mess’) for a clone story straight out of Black Mirror, except it doesn’t end horrifyingly. Ape Echoes’ co-founder Nirmit Shah says it was a “natural progression” to be a part of Bacardi House Party Sessions. Shah says they were “curious” about Dey’s thoughts, especially as a bassist and didn’t have any of those usual apprehensions any artist would have presenting their work to a musician they’ve never met before. Dey, for her part, notes that she had heard Ape Echoes before. Sonically, Dey says her “suggestions largely aimed at refining their creation.” She adds, “I just wanted to add a little spark to the passion for music that I could already see in each member’s eyes.”