In the midst of these difficult times, there are still people who are disobeying rules and not taking this situation as seriously as they should. This isn’t some silly imposed house arrest; this is very real and it would be ridiculous to not see that. Encore ABJ has been making statements for a while as half of Seedhe Maut; his brand new track ‘Ghar Pe Raho’ almost implores us to do the sensible thing. Of course, his delivery has a small hint of irony, but that’s what makes this song charming.

The production and general tone is dark. Accompanied by a fantastic music video (shot by Vaksh Vimal) that shows him breaking down behind a mask halfway through the track as the malady metaphorically takes him as its next victim, everything about ‘Ghar Pe Raho’ functions more as a word to the wise than an out-and-out warning. He uses himself as a strawman to caution us against making the same mistakes. He paints a vivid picture of us vilifying him and him breaking down; he even says that in the course of time we might call him stupid and irresponsible, but we aren’t, right? So we should do the done thing. It’s a nice concept and a smart way to bring the point home. The song also sounds very murky and dark, with a skeletal and sparse beat that has become almost the trademark and fingerprint of the genre in our country. The drums almost echo the boom-bap era and are supported by a bassline that’s clear as a bell and a couple more flourishes. It works as a great complement to the material presented here.

The situation in the world and our country has reached a place where every little wrong move might start a chain of events that we cannot control. It’s all very well to criticize everyone going out and doing stupid things, but all that applies only if we continue to stay safe and stay home. So hear what Encore ABJ is saying, and then listen.