EXCISE DEPT drop music video for new single ‘Freedom’

Mumbai collective EXCISE DEPT has recently signed to London's Dialled In Records.

The group (comprising Karanjit Singh, Andrew Sabu, Rounak Maiti and Siddhant Vetekar) spent 2025 slowing down after their more hip hop-leaning 2024 debut ‘SAB KUCH MIL GAYA MUJHE VOL 1’.

The new single ‘Freedom’ arrived on August 14; one day before Partition and the anniversary of Indian independence.

Read this next: Premiere: Sijya’s textural ‘Clear’ gets reworked by Rounak Maiti into a radiant, dance floor-ready cut

Built around soft piano play, soothing synths and light bass, the track centres on an oral history recording of Rounak's maternal grandmother, speaking in Bengali about the limits placed on her freedom: “If perhaps I didn't get married, if I had that freedom, maybe I'd have a better chance of seeing and knowing the world.”

Read this next: Review: Dialled In's debut in Manchester felt like a beacon of hope against a disturbing political environment

The accompanying music video was filmed during the annual flamingo migration in Navi Mumbai, where the album was largely recorded and where three of the band's members grew up. It follows thousands of flamingos taking flight around a lake, watched by local bird-watchers and passersby.

Watch below.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

Never miss a beat. Subscribe to our Scene Report newsletter or follow us on Instagram.