Fossils unveils ninth studio album, hosts unique listening party
Fossils 7, the ninth studio album by Bengali rock band Fossils, has been unveiled through what the band describes as the first Bangla listening party – an intimate, fan-first experience that marks a clear departure from the spectacle-heavy launches Fossils has historically been associated with. Conceived as a conscious artistic statement, the album has been nearly five years in the making, with work beginning in 2021 during the pandemic and gradually evolving through a phase of creation, reflection, experimentation and refinement. Staying true to the band’s philosophy of perfection over speed, Fossils emphasises that the record remains entirely organic, with every instrument played live by the members. All songs of the album have been written and composed by Rupam Islam, arranged and performed by Fossils, musically produced by Allan, and recorded and mastered by Pom.
The cake-cutting moment
Unlike Fossils’ earlier launches that drew overwhelming crowds, the unveiling of Fossils 7 took a more immersive, culturally rooted route. The listening party was hosted on a large open terrace in New Alipore, designed to echo Kolkata’s street culture rather than a conventional industry event. “It happened at a terrace in New Alipore. A large open terrace, and what was unique was we had Kolkata’s street food there,” said Rupsha Dasgupta, Rupam’s wife and Fossils’ manager. Guests were welcomed with phuchka stalls, jhalmuri, chaat, bhelpuri, papri chaat, patishapta and chana garam, with familiar details reimagined. “Instead of the usual red-covered phuchka baskets, we had black covers with The Fossils F7 logos. The phuchka seller, who usually wears white, wore black this time. Everyone was in black Fossils 7 T-shirts – the colour fans are synonymous with. Everything carried the Fossils 7 logos,” she added.
The ‘phuchka’ moment
The décor focussed on ambience, with LED candles lighting up the terrace and seating inspired by a typical Kolkata chaa-er-dokaan, complete with benches, shotoronchis and bhaar-er-chaa. A total of 207 attendees – including fans, contest winners from a pre-launch meet-and-greet, friends of the band members and sections of the media – gathered for the session, gaining a rare chance to hear the album before its digital release. “The fans got to listen to music from the band while sitting with the band – for the first time, before anyone else,” Rupsha noted. An LED screen displayed the lyrics as the tracks played. Filmmaker Q from Odd Space, who is overseeing the album’s video content and promotions, was present, while TalentWala handled the event execution. Though no formal celebrity guest list was planned, friends and long-time supporters, including actor Anindya Chatterjee, attended.
upam Islam with actor Anindya Chatterjee, who is also a die-hard Fossils fan
With Fossils 7, the band chose intimacy over spectacle, replacing scale and disruption with a mood-driven listening party centred on shared experience.Pics: Saugata Sinha
