Back to Life

Delhi-based garage rock act Superfuzz, who shot to prominence in 2007 but disbanded, are back in business after six seasons

Superfuzz in a recent performance after their reunion. Photo courtesy: Aarzu sadana

Superfuzz was already making waves in the Capital when its founder members were students at Delhi University. But for teenagers growing up in tier two and tier three cities of the country, far from copies of the Rolling Stone or the Rock Street Journal (RSJ), Superfuzz was served up on Channel V’s Launchpad in 2007.

Their three-piece band with the skinny, messy-haired Sanchal Malhar on vocals playing his Fender standard telecaster; Nikhil Rufus picking away on his low-hung Fender standard jazz bass; and drummer Aditya Pahariya on the cymbals was reminiscent of the grunge great Nirvana. The band oscillated between an angry garage-rock sound and more contemplative melodic rock for their own numbers, though their cover tracks were also universally lauded.If their riff-heavy What I really think captured the angst of entering adulthood, the far softer School recalled a high-schooler student’s confusion.

Perhaps it was growing pains, but a year later, they disbanded in 2008. But here’s the good news, they are back. It’s taken six years for them to return with reunion gigs in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.

Their love for music goes back many decades. Superfuzz seeds were sown when Rufus and Malhar were in school. “We were Iron Maiden fans. But we were also simultaneously listening to bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana,” says Rufus. But they soon realised they could relate more with the music of the ’90s. “Maiden was talking about wars and death and other such stuff. I got hooked on to grunge bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam,” says Rufus.

Thus, Copperstoned was formed when the boys were in school, which later became The Superfuzz Bigmuff, after Mudhoney’s debut EP. Rufus and Malhar were playing with another drummer, who shifted base to Canada, leaving Bigmuff looking for a new team mate. “RSJ used to have online forums then where people would come and write reviews on gigs they had watched. We were looking for a drummer and floated a thread on the forums. A friend from college recommended a junior and that’s how Aditya hopped onboard,” says Rufus.

With Pahariya joining in, the band figured that their sound was complete. They dropped Bigmuff from their name and went on to play at several college venues and participating in band competitions and TV shows. They finished second in Campus Rock Idols’04 and played GIR (Great Indian Rock Festival) in 2006 before Launchpad happened.

Rufus assures they’re back for good. Currently, Superfuzz is working on new songs and have plans to cut an EP soon.
(With inputs from Shantanu David)

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram