In a scene full of pretend bonhomie and clubby insiderism, Bangalore/Delhi lo-fi punks Hoirong are the perennial gate-crashers. Over two albums and a string of shorter releases, the solo project-turned-band has released some of the weirdest, most self-aware and melodically abrasive music to come out of India.
The band has built a cultishly devoted audience. Part of the attraction is their gnarly, chewed-up mix of 1990s alt-rock riffs, pop melodies and guitar noise, which sounds like nothing we’ve heard in this country before. Then there’s founder and principal songwriter Kamal Singh’s razor sharp wit and keen sense of the absurd, accompanied by a total unwillingness to take himself or the overly-corporate, image-obsessed music industry too seriously. Add a Madonna cover or two into the mix and you have India’s most meme-friendly punk band.
After months of teasing, Hoirong finally dropped their third album, Mwah, last month. While its predecessor, Dandaniya Apraadh, was inspired by the many small and large aggressions of life in New Delhi, Mwah is much more personal. Singh has spent the past year-and-a-half grappling with depression, exacerbated by a crisis in his personal life.
The 14 tracks on Mwah largely deal with this struggle, as Singh exorcises his demons.
The bizarre humour of earlier albums is tempered here by a very 1990s sense of jaded vulnerability. This, combined with a slightly more polished production courtesy of Delhi's Viraaj Mohan, makes Mwah the band's most accessible album yet.
Along with Akhil Sood on guitars, Avinash Manoli on bass and Akshat Nauriyal on drums, the walls of noise and the squalling guitar parts are still there, of course, but this time they’ve been tamed and harnessed to serve the songs rather than being allowed to run wild over the soundscape.
I'd call it Hoirong's "pop" album, in the same way that Nirvana's Nevermind was a pop album.
Opener Pushup Bra sets the tone with disjointed garage-punk riffs, propulsive drumming and brutally honest self-assessment ("But I am not the man I said I am ... I am such a ... mess"). It's an anthem for the therapy generation with its refrain of "I believe I found myself and everyone else can save the world". Peace turns up the anger and paranoia a notch, with its thunder cannonade guitar riffs and lyrics like: "This is not communication this is death."
Referencing an old soft drink commercial featuring the Detroit Pistons basketball player, Grant Hill Drinks Sprite sounds like a beefed-up version of the band Pavement, all ramshackle guitar fuzz, angular, atonal guitar leads and stream-of-consciousness lyrics in the manner of the band's frontman Stephen Malkmus.
One of the few explicitly political songs on the record, 47RR features martial drums, sharp jagged guitars, hypnotic riffing and Singh's scathing commentary on war, nationalism and Hindutva. It also offers up the funniest dismissal of the pompous language of going to war I've ever heard, with the line "Get your act together it's time for the bum bala bum bala bum bum".
On Two To Tango, Hoirong take aim at the omnipresent indie scene hangers-on, the culture vultures who treat indie music as an easy way to accumulate cultural capital.
The Weezer-esque song takes the form of an inner monologue as Singh mocks indie hipsters (“Hey you ... idiot / wave your hands in the air because we know that you don’t care”), before snidely – and sadly, accurately – concluding that “you are more famous than we will ever be”.
There are no weak cuts on this record, even with less spectacular songs littered with little moments of humour and typically madcap experimentation.
Like most great punk rock, Mwah is an evocative piece of outsider music for urban India's freaks and misfits. It's a tribute to the sounds – and the substance – of the 1990s punk underground but filtered through Hoirong's distinctive, distorted lens. If music has ever helped you feel understood and less of an outsider, then this is an album for you.
Bhanuj Kappal is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai who writes about music, protest culture and politics.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Celtic Prince, David Liska (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Grand Argentier, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
Winner: Arch Gold, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Ibn Malik, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
10pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
