MUMBAI: It has been three years since Mumbai based alt-rock band Spud in the Box conceived the idea of a full length album, which has now resulted in ‘Lead Feet Paper Shoes’. The 12-track album is set to release around mid-December or early January.

Having already released the album cover and the first single- ‘Maniac’, the band has begun to create a buzz around what can be expected from the album. Sharing his thoughts, vocalist Ankit Dayal said, “The album has a specific concept from our point of view but we leave it to the listener’s interpretation. A lot of themes are linked to different phases of growing up in life and learning to deal with problems and changes. It is actually a story that follows throughout the album; each song is part of that story, and the lead character of this story appears on the album cover.”

Designed by photographer Parizad D, the album cover is intended to visually communicate the story behind the album. “The album cover is an introduction to the world of what we want to create with the album. The different elements in the picture are motifs that we have used to narrate the story, and when you see the entire artwork, you will notice those motifs playing out in different ways and interacting with the character. Plus, the lyrics tell you the story,” Dayal added.

With the release of the first single ‘Manic’, Spud in the Box has forayed into a heavier sound. In fact, the sound of this album is a steep departure from the band’s earlier EP ‘Attention Please’'Attention Please', which was 'Attention Please'released in 2013. Dayal revealed that the journey behind defining the sound on this album started back in 2013. “When we recorded ‘Attention Please’, we had a bunch of other tracks which were sonically different from the EP. These were heavier, and eventually we were enjoying the heavier sound and committed more towards exploring that area. It has all come together now in this album, which defines that sound we wanted to create,” he added.

Currently in the final stages of mixing and mastering, the album will be released and distributed on Asli Music, founded by KJ Singh, who is also the band’s producer. After putting together a huge number of instruments which involved lot of borrowing, ‘Lead Feet Paper Shoes’ was recorded at Yash Raj studios with engineers Shantanu Hudlikar and KJ Singh, while the vocal tracks were recorded at In The Mix studios. Dayal said that the band has used number of instruments for this album, including a grand piano and a 100-year-old Gibson acoustic guitar.

“We did not want to restrict or limit ourselves with the sound. We used loud and heavy amps, a vintage electric piano, a number of guitars with 30 to 40 pedals lying around. Our producer insisted that the album be recorded live, so Yash Raj was the ideal place. It was great working with Shantanu and his assistant engineers Abhishek and Mansi who have so much experience and skill in the field. We spent about a month at Yash Raj, and almost two weeks at In The Mix. Apart from Yash Raj and In The Mix, little snippets were also recorded at Joshua Inc., which is our drummer’s studio and KJ Singh’s home studio,” Dayal said.

Other musicians have contributed to two of the songs on the album. Hebe Morwenna, who used to be part of the vocal faculty at True School of Music, lent her voice to the track ‘Papershoes’, and Suresh Lalwani, an acclaimed violinist, played on ‘Until We Fall’.

Spud in the Box believes in working as a collective unit, with incorporating ideas from every member in the making of this album. Apart from the album release, the band also intends to develop visual content with artwork that will be used for live gigs. With an international appeal, the band is also looking at the idea of spreading its music across borders. Spud in the Box will next be seen performing at Bacardi NH7 Weekender Pune, having already performed at the Delhi and Kolkata editions.