When Chai Met Toast’s new track, ‘Dreamland’, from their homecoming album, Small Town, Big Love, Little Homes, is a joyful tribute to Kerala. The video, directed by Anto Philip, which dropped on August 20, captures a sense of what home means to the quartet. It features their homes and families, Kerala’s picturesque landscapes, its life and its people. “In fact, the shirts we are wearing are based on the panchavarna (five colours) theme, repurposed from our mothers’ saris,” says Ashwin Gopakumar, the vocalist of the band.
“‘Dreamland’ speaks of home, love and affection. To us, it feels like we have come full circle,” says Achyuth Jaigopal, the guitarist. The song also features singer and composer Job Kurian. “We have admired Job’s music for years and we felt his power-packed voice was perfect for the song,” he adds. The multilingual song has English and Hindi lyrics sung by Ashwin and Malayalam, by Job.
when chai met toast
| Photo Credit:
sooryakiran
With a soul rooted in Kerala, the song includes sounds of the kombu, elathalam and chenda traditionally used in melams. “Instead of trumpets and trombones, we went with these instruments to give the song the energy. This, along with Job’s vocals, elevates the sonic experience,” says Palee.
Ever since When Chai Met Toast (WCMT) launched as a band in 2016, the quartet – Ashwin, guitarist Achyuth Jaigopal, keyboardist Palee Francis and drummer Pai Sailesh – have stuck together. Across these years, they continued to work on their craft and make authentic music.
Though they don’t like to fully be confined to a genre, their music is indie-folk-alternative.
From their debut EP Joy of Little Things in 2017, they have brought out over 25 originals, worked their way up music charts, found fans the world over and made music for Bollywood.
Being multilingual has always been the band’s USP, connecting to fans across the country and the diaspora. “Over the years, we have built a core community that has been with us through our journey and have been part of our growth. We are fortunate to have been able to sustain their interest,” says Achyuth.
A few days ago, WCMT hosted intimate events with friends and community in Bengaluru and Wayanad, where they played the new album, shared stories, and spoke about the experiences of making the album. “It was the first time we were doing something like this as a band, but it was an amazing experience to organise this special listening session and get to meet the people who make us who we are,” says Achyuth.
The band had also organised a Nature Tapes Music Festival – Edition 1 at Wayanad, earlier this month, which was for their core community, and including listening sessions, games, food and live performances of Nature Tape versions of their songs.
Has working together for over 10 years made the process of music easier? “Let’s just say, we know one another’s strengths and weaknesses,” laughs Achyuth.
Most of their songs are born while on their travels, says the band. However, they often have song-writing camps. For ‘Dreamland’, they went to different parts of Kerala for such camps, soaking in Nature while bouncing off ideas.
WCMT will have an India tour from December.
‘Dreamland’ is available on all streaming platforms.
Published – August 22, 2025 11:14 am IST
