Hear Flying Cupid's New Song "Oasis" Featuring Veil of Maya and Intervals Members | Page 2 | Revolver

Hear Flying Cupid's New Song "Oasis" Featuring Veil of Maya and Intervals Members

Plus, ringleader Abhiruk Patowary talks inspiration, goals and challenges

There's not much that's conventional about Abhiruk Patowary. A 19-year-old Indian-born multi-instrumentalist, his musical journey began 11 years ago with piano, followed by drums and then guitar. Once his discovered metalcore and progressive metal, he dove in deep on the last instrument. He began studying at the esteemed Berklee School of Music, but due to the pandemic, was compelled to return to his native India. Previous to his studies at Beklee, Patowary was completely self-taught, which resulted in an unusual playing style that primarily uses only two fingers on his fretting hand.

Also unconventional is the name of his solo metalcore project, which he started as a college freshman: Flying Cupid. Patowary has his mom to credit — or blame — for it. "I was looking for names for the project and couldn't think of anything so I went to my mother and told her to give me a name, and the first thing that she said was Flying Cupid," he tells us. "And it's such a bizarre name for a heavy-metal project that it just works for some reason. So the name doesn't have any meaning apart from this story."

Last year, Revolver premiered Flying Cupid's shreddy single "Changes"; today (April 23rd), the project is back with another djent-inflected new song, "Oasis," which, in addition to Patowary, features Veil of Maya's Lukas Magyar on vocals, Abhishek Pillay on bass and Interval's Nathan Bulla on bass. Check it out above — along with its official performance video — and read our Q&A with Flying Cupid's ringleader below.

IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE FLYING CUPID'S MISSION STATEMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
ABHIRUK PATOWARY The project is primary target for its audience is to make them escape their troubles for even a little while and enjoy the moment of life through the songs I write. It's also an attempt to inspire others to get creative to make and appreciate arts. It's essentially just a fun little break from reality.

I want to influence and encourage others to create art. Me growing up was heavily influenced by bands like Periphery and Opeth, and they helped me find my voice for creation and I want to pass that on.

HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO METALCORE?
I discovered metalcore through browsing YouTube. A friends of mine introduced me to Suicide Silence, and while watching one of their videos I stumbled across Killswitch Engage and I've been a fan ever since.

WITH FLYING CUPID, WHAT'S THE HARDEST CHALLENGE YOU HAVE COME ACROSS SO FAR, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?
The hardest challenge was finding a sound which would showcase my style and make the band stand out and recognizable in the crowd. The way was just a bunch of trial and errors and a lot of experimentation, which led to the sound of the upcoming album.

HOW DID YOU GET LUKAS AND NATHAN INVOLVED WITH "OASIS"? WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH THEM?
All three have worked on my first album with my other band, Gaia, back in 2018. And as surprising it may sound, I just found all of them via Facebook and I just asked and they were up for it. Working with them was an absolute blast! All of them are excellent at what they do and have delivered phenomenal performances in their respective parts.

BEYOND MUSIC, DO YOU HAVE HOBBIES OR PETS?
Apart from music, I love playing chess — that's the only hobby I have. And yes, I do have two puppies: a German Spitz and a beagle named Coco and Louis [respectively].

WHAT BAND OR MUSICAL ARTIST ARE YOU A BIGGEST FAN OF? PROVE YOUR FANDOM.
My favorite artists are Tesseract, Periphery, Veil of Maya, Killswitch Engage and Opeth. Unfortunately, I haven't done anything extreme fandom-wise apart from, of course, listening to them on repeat for hours.

IF YOU COULD ONLY PLAY ONE OF YOUR SONGS FOR SOMEONE TO INTRODUCE THEM TO YOUR BAND, WHAT SONG WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
It's going to be "Oasis," for sure, 'cause it has a good balance of the melodic as well as the heavier elements with hints of djent in it, and it perfectly describes what the album is gonna sound like.