ROFO’s Caged Authority holds a mirror to our world

How did a rock band from the city end up writing a concept EP about a Burmese python whose family is trying to escape a war zone? Rascals of the First Order (ROFO)’s drummer Sujay Hazra says it emerged from a casual conversation about “invasive species.”

Talking about the underlying theme behind their debut EP, Caged Authority, Sujay says, “These are creatures introduced into ecosystems by humans, often for their own benefit that end up causing deep, irreversible harm to the environment.”

The band realised a larger comparison could be made about “how power structures manipulate and displace for control, and how the ripple effects are felt by those who had no say in it” and that led to characters and storylines for their five-track EP, which released in June this year.

Caged Authority cover art
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“While we’ve used animals symbolically, the underlying themes speak to human experiences — exploitation, displacement and resistance. In a way, this EP mirrors global conflict. That’s what makes it so relevant right now,” he adds.

Originally a college band who gradually made their way into the city’s gigging circuit, ROFO’s Caged Authority is jam-packed with fist-pumping rock mirroring influences that range from Soundgarden to Rage Against The Machine, Queens of the Stone Age and Chennai’s rock act Skrat. It signals some powerful songwriting not dictated by shrinking attention spans, leaning more on epic-length storytelling, with each number averaging at five minutes.

Vocalist Sivan Chakravarthy reiterates that at the core of the EP is their message of resistance. He took the Burmese python’s displacement (according to him, it was originally considered an Indian species) as the foundation to talk about injustice and existential crises in songs such as ‘Python’ as well as ‘Hardwired’. This python, with a beaver and an ex-army general banding together in an unlikely alliance to take back control, form the lore of Caged Authority.

Rascals of the First Order
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Among the highlights on the EP is ‘Feels Like S**t’ which seems a lot more rooted and playful in its use of modern-day life, invoking settings such as traffic jams. Sivan says, “Lyrically and story wise, this song is an extension of ‘Hardwired’ where the protagonist we all knew transforms into the antagonist.”

There is a lot of journeying through molten riffs and solos on Caged Authority and ROFO feel they would not have it any other way. Guitarist Pranav Kapadia says, “We were focused on what sounded good to us in telling the story. Sometimes you need sufficient textures, soundscapes and visual imagery in order to build that world in your head. We were selfish about it — we did what we liked and left the interpretation to the listeners.”

The guitarist adds that they do not necessarily lengthen or shorten songs based on an industry standard, but hints that the approach will “keep evolving based on the stories we want to tell”. Pranav says, “We recently wrote a song which is about three-and-a-half minutes long.”

Rascals of the First Order
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

With the EP out now, ROFO are plotting a multi-city tour in the coming months, setting their sights on shows in Mumbai, New Delhi and of course, Bengaluru. “We want to throw a party in every city we play in and make people dance. And rock makes you dance,” Sivan says.

There might be new music videos from the EP as well as new songs. Sivan admits it is “wonderful” as well as “challenging” to be a rock band in India right as the need to stand out from the pack is more necessary now than ever before.

“We are sticking to building a long-term community of Rascals. We prioritise our newsletters to talk to our fans and are experimenting in terms of building a digital community through other means such as merch,” says Sivan.

Pranav adds, “We are trying to carve our niche within this movement and so far it has been well received; we have made some great friends along the way.”

Get the EP on rascalsofthefirstorder.bandcamp.com