desi music bands

Indian Ocean – For the Love of Music

We’re back in Delhi people! This time to take a plunge in the Indian Ocean. Indian Ocean is often regarded as one of the pioneers of Indie Music Scene in India. Formed back in 1984 as a couple of musicians, it soon evolved into a four member band comprising Susmit Sen (Guitar), late Asheem Chakravarty (Tabla, Drums, Vocals), Rahul Ram (Bass Guitar, Vocals) and Amit Kilam (Vocals, Percussion).

The bands featured on Indie Rhythms thus far, have largely sung in English. Indian Ocean on the other hand, is a fusion band that aims to bring together a whole range of music genres that accompany the desi Hindi language.

Amidst their numerous gigs, recordings and tours; Rahul Ram of Indian Ocean managed to share with us a little about Indian Ocean…

Usha: How does a regular creative session go? It’d be cool to know how you guys work in creating magic.

IO: We guys sit about in a rough circle facing each other and then we jam.  This usually results in nothing great, but every now and then something emerges (Could be a rhythm structure, a guitar riff, a bass line a vocal line, anything), which we all say “Ah” to and try and take forward, teasing it about, playing with it, going here, there, everywhere, and something MAY emerge.  Sometimes the bare bones of a new piece may emerge in half an hour, sometimes the idea may float for years before it becomes something, or an idea may just die or fade away.

Once a basic idea is formed, we can develop it over days, weeks, months, years, honing it till we are finally halfway pleased with it.  Then we play versions of it at concerts and further refine it. It’s an infinite process.  This does not stop even after we record a song, it keeps evolving slowly at live concerts, witness ‘Jhini’ or ‘Kandisa’ on the CD versus on the live DVD.

Usha: How does it feel to have a movie made about Indian Ocean? Does it reflect the real Indian Ocean?

IO: It feels great! Obviously! And that too, the first movie made on an Indian band to get released on the big screen!

The “Real” Indian Ocean is something that no one movie can possibly show completely. How do you tell a story over twenty years in the making, in a 110 minute film? The filmmaker gets snapshots at a certain time, perhaps a film shot ten years back would have told a somewhat different story.  Plus, notice that the shot selection, shots themselves, and very importantly, the editing is all in the hands of the filmmaker.

This is NOT a film that was commissioned by us, neither did we have any say in the way the story was presented, so it’s HIS (Jaideep Varma, the director) version of the Indian Ocean story.  If you had shot the film, it would have been different.  And, as all you Rashomon fans know, “Reality” is a construct, and everyone’s is different!

Usha: When the band was first formed in the 90s, what was Indian Ocean working towards achieving? After releasing several albums, touring both in India and Abroad, what is Indian Ocean working towards now?

IO: I don’t think we had an aim when the band was formed, apart from making music and doing some concerts. Then perhaps only Susmit had an ambition to do something more, something different, and he managed to get us an album deal with HMV in 1992. Even post that, the band seemed to exist more in drift mode: making new music, playing a few concerts.  Things picked up in the mid-90s when we started playing a lot more concerts and touring all over India.

Today: We are releasing a new album in July. It’s called 16/330 Khajoor Road and will be given away free on the net one song a month. We have also completed two songs for a film called Peepli Live (Aamir Khan Productions) that will be released in July as well and a tour of the USA, Canada, China and Indonesia in August-October. Yes, I see you’re in Shanghai, so we shall most probably be playing there last week of September. (At this juncture, you ought to imagine Usha grinning oh so widely.)

But these are not aims or goals, just milestones. Our aim remains the same: to make more music that we like and to play it to people all over the world.  We may start collaborating with other musicians a lot more than we’ve done in the past. And we are also in the process of looking for a singer and a percussionist since our Asheem passed away last December.

Usha: Which song from your released albums would you recommend for someone who hasn’t heard of Indian Ocean before?

IO: Nice tough one! Depends on the person actually, and the mood! ‘Kandisa’ works for a lot of people, some love ‘Hille Le’, others find ‘Bhor’ fascinating, and a surprisingly large number of people know of us through ‘Bandeh’.  So take your pick!

Usha: When is the next album releasing?

IO: The next album, actually, comprises of songs we have been composing and recording since 2006-7. In a way, it represents the last few songs that Asheem participated in composing, recording and performing. The last song we managed to record with him before his passing was a song called Darte Ho; which is also part of the Peepli Live album and we’re asking Amir if he will let us add it to our album as well. Which he probably would since he’s basically a very nice guy.

Previous albums…

Their previous albums include Indian Ocean (1992), Desert Rain (1997), Kandisa (2000), Jhini (2004) and Black Friday(2004) -For an Hindi Language film called Black Friday.

The first time I came across Indian Ocean’s music was early last year. I was first introduced to a particular number titled Hay Riya from their 1992 album, Indian Ocean. The stringed instrument accompaniment in it remains my favorite till date.

Another favorite of mine and perhaps one of their widely known compositions would be Bharam Bhap Ke (Black Friday). This particular number starts with a solo instrument with an emo feel to it. It reminded me so much of Evanescence. The manner in which her Hello began and how Bharam Bhap Ke started, they kinda evoked the same emotions. Apart from that, both artistes are drastically different on so many levels!

For their stand alone non-lyrical compositions, the highly recommended ones would be Euphoria and Going to ITO from Desert Rain. The familiar Indian drum beats dancing to the wave of the guitar, was indeed a pleasure to be immersed in. Being a fan of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his likes, I took an instant liking to many of their other songs too. As per all the posts in this series, I have a personal favorite amongst the many songs that came out of this band as well. And that one has been narrowed down to Kaun from Kandisa.

To be on track with Indian Ocean’s upcoming gigs and tour dates; add them on http://twitter.com/indianoceanband and http://www.facebook.com/indianoceanmusic.

One can also listen to their music at their official website: www.indianocean.com or www.lastfm.com. Or better yet, get down to your nearest HMV equivalent and purchase their album.

Thank You for tuning in!

Note: Image Courtesy of Indian Ocean

Indie Rhythms by Ginger Chai hopes to explore the Indie music scene across India by bringing you information on existing as well as upcoming Indie bands across the nation. Their music, previous albums, upcoming albums, events, and if we are super lucky; we hope to bring you interviews with the respective bands.  Hopefully, after this, you start rendering your ears to their compositions. Only then will Ginger Chai be able to consider this attempt a success.

Half Step Down – Overtures in Outerspace

Indie Rhythms by Ginger Chai hopes to explore the Indie music scene across India by bringing you information on existing as well as upcoming Indie bands across the nation. Their music, previous albums, upcoming albums, events, and if we are super lucky; we hope to bring you interviews with the respective bands.  Hopefully, after this, you start rendering your ears to their compositions. Only then will Ginger Chai be able to consider this attempt a success. Welcome onboard and let the rhythm take over.

First to be featured in this series is Half Step Down (HSD) from New Delhi. Formed in 2005, HSD is made up of Dhaval Mudgal on Vocals, Karan Dutta aka KD on Guitar/Backing Vocals, Shiv Lumba on Piano/Organ, Carl Abraham on Bass and Srijan Mahajan with Drums.  Refusing to be confined to any particular genre, they instead prefer to refer to their music as encompassing a whole myriad of elements from across the musical platform. Or in the words of HSD, “versatile mish mash” is what they aim to offer.

From a regular college band HSD went on to perform in the Great Indian Rock Show in 2007. Amongst the many head banging performances, they certainly put up a front which eventually paved the way to their debut album Overtures in Outerspace late last year.

From their humble beginnings, Dhaval, the voice of HSD shares with us HSD’s journey thus far and from here on… in a conversation with GingerChai’s Usha Amudan.

Usha: When HSD was first formed in 2005, what were you guys working towards to?

HSD: When we formed the band in 2005, we had decided to take our interest in music to a more serious level from the college band. We didn’t know what exactly we were working towards but we knew we wanted to make music.

Usha: How has that changed in the last 5 years?

HSD: Well, the desire to create music still remains strong. Only now it comes with the need to create challenges and stimulate ourselves while doing so.

Usha: How does a regular creative session go?

HSD: Creative sessions can go in various directions. Sometimes, the guitarist will play something and everybody starts playing along, sometimes the piano player arrives with a grand arrangement, sometimes I have a basic idea which we all expand on collectively.

Usha: HSD is made up of members who hold regulars job besides playing for the band. How do you guys manage?

HSD: Well, two of the guys have regular jobs. Our drummer, piano player and I are doing this full time. It is tough coordinating time schedules, leave applications etc. But as this countercultural movement grows, it becomes more of an acceptable full time profession. We hope that eventually we will all be able to do this full time.

Usha: What keeps the spirit high among HSD?

HSD: The help of various spirits is employed to keep spirits high in HSD!!! Apart from that, we guys are great friends so we enjoy each other’s company and tomfoolery!

Usha: How different is HSD from the rest of the Indie Bands in India?

HSD: Well, the idea has always been to be honest to making music that’s fun, which pleases us and audiences at some level. We have always tried to not take ourselves too seriously and that seems to filter through on stage as well.

Usha: In the website, HSD has been described to have drawn influences from Led Zepplin, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and others. Name a domestic band that HSD can relate to.

HSD: There’s so many bands here that we can relate to and admire- Thermal and a Quarter for their awesome lyrics and songwriting, Indian Ocean- for sticking to their guns right from the outset and creating a sound that is theirs completely. As for younger bands, there are the Them Clones, Advaita and Joint Family.

Usha: Audience reception to Overtures in Outerspace?

HSD: The album ‘ Overtures in Outerspace’, has been received really well by fans, audiences, musicians and critics alike! As an independent release we have had some distribution issues, but now it is available worldwide on www.underscorerecords.com

Usha: Future Albums?

HSD: There are plans aplenty but it will take some time as our guitarist is moving out of the country and the search for a new one is on. We want to create many albums over the years and we will. There will be a focus on better production and recording in the upcoming albums.

Usha: Define HSD in less than ten words for people who might not have heard of HSD.

HSD: www.halfstepdownmusic.com. Figure it out!!!

Now that we have heard from the man himself, what about the album?

Overtures in Outerspace was released early August 2009. A couple of the album’s tracks can be compared to the likes of Incubus with its Morning View album. The guitar pieces for most of the tracks add to its listening value. Other tracks like Knocking at the Back of My Head, Circles and my personal favorite Girl Not Guitar are worth listening to. As for the lyrics, there ain’t any one theme that the album adheres to. Definitely nothing to do with Outerspace!  But, more to do with the world inhibited by us, humanity.

Guaranteed accompaniment for any music aficionado with their evening Gingerchai.

You can purchase their debut album, Overtures in Outerspace from www.underscorerecords.com. If you wanna consider the tracks before investing your cash, some of the tracks are available at www.last.fm and at http://www.myspace.com/halfstepdownmusic.

Thank You for Tuning In!

Note: Images courtesy of Half Step Down.