Darshan Doshi Trio’s 2022 project featuring Kolkata based guitarist Rickraj and producer/bass player Hashbass from Delhi recently released a track called ‘Dark Matter’ on all music streaming platforms. This track is a live recording of the trio’s performance at the G5A Foundation in Mumbai.
Ever since the inception of DDT project in 2021, the collaborations are fondly known for its rock-jazz and experimental genre. The most recent collaboration is no different. Not only does this trio raise the bar higher, they also stretch it wider.
The nine-minute track ‘Dark Matter’ opens with a hypnotic arpeggiated melody. This simple electronic opening is enough to grab the listener’s attention. The song soon breaks into a rock composition with heavy drum hits and power chord progressions.
The chemistry between the drums, guitar and bass guitar continues to build up for about a minute and a half, right until when a sudden tempo change grabs the listeners by surprise. One can also hear a tinge of hip-hop beats added somewhere around this part. It is a good dynamic tool added to the performance.
There is a certain Bollywood music characteristic to the guitar riffs which is hard to pin-point, but it definitely is a good layer to the potluck of genres in this musical piece. At around the mark of three minutes, the guitar is given a spotlight, and Rickraj takes this opportunity demonstrate his dexterity.
Lurking like a powerful ghost somewhere in the background for the first half of the song, Hashbass keeps the groove flowing with his skilful and disciplined performance. This groovy bass then evolves into the master of the song when it enters in a ‘jugalbandi’-like section keeping up with Darshan Doshi’s spunky drums. This whole section is a complex structure of erratic time signatures.
The last three minutes of the song could be described as a sweet conversation between the three artists. It includes tight snare hits, playful toms, tiny yet powerful guitar riffs, and neat bass slaps adding a fun flavour to the track. The last two minutes even introduces dance music elements.
The length of the song might not go too well with the fast moving and fast listening audience, but over-all it is a nice nine-minute journey which will engross the listeners if they give it a chance.
Verdict: Trance, powerful, smooth
