MUMBAI: You would think that just after releasing an EP, a band would sit back and enjoy the fruits of labour, but that does not seem to be the case for Mind Map. The Bengaluru-based band, which refers to its genre as ‘experimental psybient’, which is a mixture of rhythm and soulful melodies to psychedelic rare instrument sounds, is already working on a music album.

Mind Map, which was formed two and half years ago, consists of Bankim (lead guitars), PsyDidge aka Abhijith (didgeridoo, vocals and psy sounds), Avinos (bass), Deepak (percussions), Shreyas Sel (drums and other percussions), Preetham (synth and vocals) and Kiran Singh aka Trinetra Creations (guitars and artwork).

Speaking about the recently released, three-track EP, all of which are precursors to full length album, Abhijith said, “All three songs follow an order. ‘Actual Instinct’ is the first track, which talks about the survival instincts that all of us have. We have clouded our mindset with materialistic and possessive intent, where as we should just let go of it all, so that we can sense the actual instincts. The second track, ‘Alien Planet’, is sort of a philosophical thought. We, as a generation, have been obsessed with aliens and the prospect of finding aliens. However, we do not realise that we ourselves are aliens in this universe, which could be for someone else. The third track, ‘Mean Man’, highlights the exploitation of nature by man. It symbolises nature as a Mother, who nurtures man, but man fails to understand its importance. The track ends with mother nature showing its fury to man who is belittled in front of the power of this universe. These three tracks have different stories but the same theme, inspired by the universe.”

For the upcoming album, the band is already working on a new song ‘Pani’. “The song is taken from Kabir literature, and we are trying to incorporate it in our style of music. The song talks about how every soul is like water. That water can take different states – solid, liquid and gaseous, but at the end of the day it is water. That is how every soul is, it can take any other shape, but the main content is the soul. ‘Pani’ will be a part of our upcoming album, which will have eight tracks and will release early next year,” confirmed the musician.

The EP, which is also titled ‘Mind Map’ was released under the Sri Lankan label- Spirited Records. When asked why the band chose a label that is located outside India, Abhijith revealed that they sent mixes of their tracks to a number of different labels, including record companies in India. However, Spirited Records showed interest in the material that they had created.

A fascinating aspect about the band is that its art expert, Kiran Singh paints on a canvas during rehearsals and performances. “He uses a canvas and paints things related to the concept. Kiran has been with us for a year and a half year now. All our art work is done by him, even the EP art was done by him,” Abhijith confessed.

While the band has not yet put out a music video for any of its tracks, the artist revealed that they do have plans to release videos; however, it will happen once they have adequate resources.