New Delhi Band SoHumble Talk Debut EP ‘Shuruaat’

Founder Soham Mallick, from Hindi rock act Moongphali, brings a grandiose, ensemble sound across four tracks

Singer-songwriter Soham Mallick (second from right) with SoHumble. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Formed in 2023, New Delhi band SoHumble – founded by singer-songwriter Soham Mallick as his ensemble, which is how the project got its name – traverse Indian folk hues, starry rock and thumping prog on their debut EP Shuruaat.

With the four-track EP released in June this year, the band – comprising Mallick on vocals an guitars, joined by keyboardist Kapil Sharwa, violinist Izhar Aghai Ali Khan, drummer Hanujeet Singh, guitarist Zaja Kithan and bassist Prashant Gazmer – have been occasionally taking it on the road in Delhi NCR clubs.

Mallick builds upon music experience that he’s honed since 2010, with some of these songs off Shuruaat being written “a long time ago” and stowed away. When the band brings in their element, it becomes a fresh take on the music. So in a way, it is a culmination of the work I have been doing but that being said, I believe in creating space for everyone in the band to showcase their musicality and try the serve the song and the story to the best of our abilities,” Mallick says.

In a way, SoHumble are carrying forward the Indian rock sound that Mallick left off with this previous band, Moongphali, although there are new elements like Khan’s violin parts. Mallick says he composed the violin part for “Modh” while writing it. “Having Izhar on the violin helped the cause as he and I are both trained in Indian classical music. So in a song like ‘Modh,’ it made sense to have an Indian violin line in the mix.”

With “Guroor,” the violin once again plays a stirring role as the song is elevated into power ballad levels of grandeur. Mallick explains the song was written in 2020 in the lockdown days of the pandemic. “I was going through a little purple patch and ended up writing about 35 songs in as many days,” Mallick says. With “Guroor,” he explored “difficult choices we have to make in life and the repercussions and regrets that come along with it.” The violin was a question mark for Mallick in terms of what parts would fit, but says it happened “naturally and effortlessly” when he sat down to write.

While the EP opens with a soothing, breathy song like “Raat,” it closes with a modern prog-influenced called “Azaad,” which Mallick calls the “toughest song” to put together in the EP. He credits co-producer Vaibhav Ahuja for helping push it past the finish line, with its blistering drum work and post-rock-like starry guitar parts. “We look forward to playing this one across music festivals. Most of our songs are written in a manner that the crowd can easily jump in on,” he adds.

True to their independent, wandering spirit, SoHumble have released Hindi songs after an initial trio of English songs like “Bookmark,” “Synesthesia” and “As.A.Burn” in 2023. A bilingual rock band who are experimenting with genres and adding a wholesome amount of rock into the mix, SoHumble plan to hit up a few festivals soon, hoping to represent a new evolution of rock in India. In parallel, two more songs will release this year. We have also started work on our debut album scheduled for release in 2025,” Mallick says.

Listen to ‘Shuruaat’ EP below.