Riju Dasgupta better known as The Rijunator who was a founding member and bass player of India’s humor metal band Workshop has called it quits.The news comes right in the middle of the bands recording session for their 2nd full-length album that is due for release later this year. Riju had even completed recording his parts for the album.
“This is a very sad day for us, Riju is like family and news like this always a tough pill to swallow (no pun intended). However we’ve had an amazing journey together and all good things in life do come to an end so we wish Riju a lot of success in his musical journey ahead. While it is almost impossible to imagine Workshop without him we have decided to carry on and will soon be auditioning bass players.” said the band.
An official statement was released by Riju Dasgupta.
“Dear fans and friends,
In what has been a very difficult decision, I’ve decided to step down as the bassist of Workshop. Difficult not only because I’ve had a total blast playing before you fuckers across the country, but because Sahil and Hamza are two of the best friends I’ve ever had. From making an absolute fool of myself on national TV to making an absolute fool of myself off TV, from getting all excited about Bunty Aur Mallika Sherwath video stats to watching you all scream ‘Do Bade Bubbley’ when we played the song, from the madness onstage and in the jamroom to the food we stuffed ourselves with post the jams; the journey’s been nothing short of fucking awesome.
As of now I’m focused on my main project Albatross and it’s a full time commitment. I wish Workshop all the best; as I know they’ll keep kicking ass without me and I pledge my support to whatever they decide to do.
And to conclude here’s thanking everyone who’s ever been part of the Workshop clan- Sahil, Hamza, Raj, Devesh, Shome, Zain, Mrudul, Jared, Deepti, Mikhail, Basrur, Bipro, Demonic Resurrection, Coshish, Channel [v], every fucking gig organiser who’s invited us for their fest, everyone we’ve shared the stage with, everyone who’s ever interviewed us, everyone who’s made these last 3 years really special. Love you all. So long and thanks for all the bukkake.”
Workshop released their debut album ‘Khooni Murga’ in 2008 and the entire album can be streamed on their reverbnation page . The band also released 2 music videos , the infamous Bunty Aur Malika Sherwath and Cookie Monster
Riju’s band Albatross released their debut EP ‘Dinner Is You’ in 2010 on Demonstealer Records and can be heard on www.myspace.com/albatrosshorror