indi band

In conversation with Folk-Rockers Swarathma

They are Namma Bengaluru’s beloved folk-rockers whose visually electric, high-energy live act is one musical experience to die for! Yes,  it took 3 years for them to release their second album ‘Topiwalleh‘ (blame it on their extensive tours) but it was worth the long wait and you will agree if you listen to the numbers. Our very own musical genie Usha Amudan in conversation with Vasu, Varun, Sanjeev,Pavan and Jishnu of Swarathma.

I have to say there are very few covers that actually stand out. Both your album covers are colorful. It’s like Holi on a single page. Creativity much?

Vasu/Vocals & Guitar: Actually we don’t do covers, we play our own compositions… well…sorry I couldn’t resist that.

We believe that our music is a reflection of what young India today is and our art-form (designs) reflects that. When we have costumes and performance that reflects a vibrant celebration and theatrics, the intention is that our design should also reflect the same to have a cohesive message to put across. Each medium of work should support each other: music-costume-graphic-film-marketing. So there is no way that our designs could be anything but colourful; be it the truck/Indian Kitsch art in the first album or the newspaper as our theme in the second one. Having said that as a designer and as a person I also have a natural inclination towards colourful stuff, you should check out my wardrobe some time (3D goggles available before opening it).

What has changed since the release of “Swarathma”?

Varun/Guitars: There have been a lot of changes both musically and personally. Musically we feel a lot more confident to enter a recording studio or even play gigs. Songwriting has evolved a lot over the years with each of us exploring constantly and expanding our musical boundaries to include a wider spectrum of everything we come across in our daily life. This has brought out a great sonic difference in the band. Besides travelling with the band and spending so much time together has helped us understand each other so much more than what we did a couple of years back. And it is a journey and this will only grow into something bigger with each day passing by.

“Topiwalleh”, how has the response been for the new album?

Varun/Guitars: There have been some really good responses and a couple of not-so-good responses too, due to sharp shift in the sound of the band with a lot of heavy influences being added to the band’s sound. As a matter of fact there are still a lot of reviews that are still coming out as we speak. But from the point of view of people who matter, their response has been very encouraging, and we’re happy about it!

Tell us about the collaborations involved with “Topiwalleh”? How has that aided in the formation of the album.

Sanjeev/Violins: In Topiwalleh, the collaborations happened at multiple stages. During the songwriting, we collaborated with Devanand Varaparasad, a folk artist, during our song writing workshop in Mysore. The idea for the song Koorane was born out of this collaboration.

Once we were ready to record the album, we were helped greatly by Loy Mendonsa, a veteran musician of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy fame. The best part about collaboration with Loy was that he did not try to change our songs, but he gave them that extra edge to take them to the next level. Thanks to Loy we managed to up our production levels compared to the first album.

If you thought the percussion section sounded nice and tight in Topiwalleh, here’s why: Vivek Rajagopalan on mridangam, ghatam and Raju Sardar on the dholak. Both came on board and nailed the parts in no time!

We got second time lucky when we had the rare opportunity to collaborate with the legendary Hindustani Singer Shubha Mudgal for The Dewarists. Little did we know when we wrote and recorded this song in Mysore in less than 4 days that it will one day become part of our second album Topiwalleh. But considering the vibe of the song and the overall reception it received, there was no way we could leave it out!

On the lyrics department, we were helped a great deal by Puneet Sharma, Samir Shisodia and Imran Chowdhury. In fact, the term Topiwalleh for the title track was coined by Imran.

It was a great experience working with each one of them and without their help and support, this album wouldn’t have sounded the way it does.

The growing indie scene is largely popular among the younger Indian audience, incorporating the social factor into the lyrics might actually entice the older population to give your chords a listen. What’s your take on that?

 Pavan/Percussions & Vocals: First of all I don’t think the indie scene is largely popular only among the younger Indian audience. From the personal experiences I have realized that audiences from all age groups tend to enjoy the music. Usually the older population is less seen at the venues, may be because of reasons like inability to stand for long periods of time at gigs. The indie scene in India has been there for the past several years, but only now it is gaining popularity. I am sure older people also wanted to make independent music but might not have been accepted positively then. But incorporating the social factor into the lyrics might add an advantage also, both for the young and older audience. Reason being everyone in the society has something to say. And when we as artists bring that out on stage with along with music, it is like representing their concern. So naturally it will be embraced, across age groups.

Swarathma’s music for the indie film, “Greater Elephant”. How does that feel?

Jishnu/Bass & Vocals: To begin with it feels great to be able to support the Elephant! On a more serious note, it feels wonderful to be able to contribute music to an independent film. We know and respect Srinivas Sunderrajan (of Enter Guerilla Films) via his association with metalcore band Scribe. In fact, we’ve even collaborated with Scribe on a couple of occasions. So when he came to us with the idea of the film and wanted to use our music, we were more than happy. If you watch the film you’ll realize that Swarathma’s music does fit in really well with the theme of the film and its sequences. It was also great to hear that the film won the jury prize at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York!

Tell us about “Action Replay”. What brought about the venture and how has the response been thus far?

Vasu/Vocals & Guitar: I’m not sure if the order of these events are right but here it is: We were travelling to Naukuchiatal (home of Shubha Mudgal ji) to stay at Shubhaji’s mother’s house and ‘chill’, that’s when Shubhaji’s mother suggested that we should perform for the locals there and some children from a residential school there. So we did jugaad for a basic sound system which could produce some sound and did a show which was the beginning of our Action Replay shows. As a part of the same tour, we went to Kolkata and played a show for the children (girls) rescued from human trafficking across border and it was an amazing experience to see those children smiling and dancing. This gave us more hope and strength in believing our music and what we can do with it. Basically we felt that such shows are the ones which satisfy us as artists and also do more than just entertain, there is an unknown connection that happens with such audiences who open their hearts and accept you with much love and warmth. So we decided to take this as a serious step and Jishnu with his marketing brains came-up with the name ‘Action Replay’. And from then on we’ve played at leprosy centres, Blind schools, Old-age homes and many such place where people wouldn’t have even thought of watching a live band play, they probably would never get close an opportunity like that in their lives. The response so far has been something that enriches and makes us believe in our music and keep going on. This is why I want to keep singing, because I know that I need to reach out to such people as well, while I also do corporate shows which pay our bills.

Recommend a track from either album for the first time Swarathma listener.

Jishnu/Bass: From the debut album Swarathma – ‘Pyaasi’. From the new album Topiwalleh: ‘Topiwalleh’.

What was the band aiming when it started off years ago?

Sanjeev/Violins: Swarathma started as any other college band back in 2002, trying to make original music and have fun in the process. Of course, the desire to do well was there – but so was the desire to make music that was original and music one can relate to. I think at that time, given where Swarathma was, getting a chance to perform on stage was a big deal. But the band stuck to what they were good at, writing songs and performing them at whatever opportunities came by.

Cut to 2007, the aim is still pretty much the same, only the desire has become much stronger. The lineup changed and with the new people came new ideas, new sounds and new expressions. The ideology remains the same, to make music one can relate to.

What’s next in the pipeline for the band?

Jishnu: I think we need a much needed break after the hard work we put into the writing, recording, post-production, promotion and touring for the album Topiwalleh! I don’t remember working so hard ever before, and everyone in the band played their part. I think it is important to rest, rejuvenate and return with fresh minds for what lies ahead. For the next year or so, we intend to promote Topiwalleh and the songs from it with more concerts, taking our music to more places and people. We would like to put out a live album, pretty soon. That will be our focus. We also want to start writing material for the third album and collaborate and share musical ideas with more artists.

Upcoming projects? Performances?

We’re working on the new anthem for youth TV channel Bindass. That should be interesting. As for performances, it is the end of the season, so you should ask us this 2 months from now.

A note to your fans:

Jishnu: Big love, thanks and respect for listening to us and supporting us for all these years. It would not have been possible without you.

Fill in the blank. People who love _____________will love our music.

Varun – People who would love us for what we are will love our music

Sanjeev – People who love listening to music that touches the soul will love our music

Pavan – People who love simplicity and honesty will love our music.

Vasu – People who love art which is more than just entertainment will love our music.

Jishnu – People who love the courage of conviction will love our music.

Gowri Jayakumar – Growin’ Up With My Guitar

I am excited to share all about her with you guys. For starters, she is the first female musician to be featured on this site. Is that awesome or what?! I mean seriously! As I approach musicians to share about their music with us, it just ends up being either a solo male artist or an all dudes band. I’m pretty sure there are loads of female artists across the South Asian Continent. But I just haven’t come into contact with one…till now.

She is a potential mixture of Neko Case + Kaki King + Lisa Hannigan. I think) one might be able to draw parallels with these singers when it comes to G’s music.

Anyways let’s cut to the chase….

She has been around for a while now making music in and sometimes out of Bangalore. G has yet to release an album under her name, however many of her songs have been making rounds via social networking websites and Soundcloud.

I manage to source her out just so that we get to learn more about this upcoming Indie artist and of course be introduced to her groovy music.

Gowri Jayakumar is the Maggie haired musician who…

has woes and indigestion aplenty, and an audience that will indulge only if whinged musically.

Did you grow up wanting to make music?

Making music sort of happens on its own, when you have the company of a guitar, or any other musical instrument I suppose. It did for me. There was no musical dream before I picked up the guitar, but since, we’ve just been growing together it seems.

Do you do this full time?

It’s time I did! But no, it’s a weekend affair as of now. I work 5 days, and sleep most the other two. And in between, I play.

Tell us about the instrument/(s) you play?

I play the guitar, and recently picked up the harmonica. I use both at shows, but am rusty at the harmonica, but it still sounds good to me. Just getting the hang of it.

Your music influences?

I’m not sure how I can answer this. But I could tell you what I love. I love storytellers mostly. And among those, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Madeleine Peyroux, The Be Good Tanyas are some of my favourites. I love Kaki King, I just love her. Ideal sound -  I love heavy basslines, jazzy chords, buttery vocals and so on. And I love Chemical brothers, Radiohead, Jamiroquai, Spin Doctors, and these guys as well.

Depends on the mood I suppose. These, with the many small n big experiences influence me…maybe.

What genre do you consider your music to be?

Ah well, nothing exclusive. I sing my songs; play the guitar, sometimes the harmonica. I don’t know. Call me an acoustic singer-songwriter, folk, country, acoustic rock. I’m not even sure these things apply anymore. There is hardly any relevance to genres anymore.

What kinda themes do your lyrics tackle?

Hmm…well…a lot of guilt. Temptation, love, fear of dying (a close friend died, and it’s been a haunting theme since), travelling, growing old, alone and ugly…and stuff like that. Nothing pleasant.

One of your songs were along the lines of “cruella tucked me into bed..”? Is it the same Cruella I think it is?

Heh. It’s “Oh cruel luck, she tucked me away, and promised laughter at the break of day, she taught me songs of survival and fun, and when I see trouble, she told me to run”

I guess Cruella works too. <Oops..my ears played a trick on me>

This song is part of my Guilt series. Wrote this one and “see the pussy run” after I did something that made me feel queasy, and was on this trip of justification, defense and all that. But failed. So I just wanted to palm off the blame, and be cool.

Tell us about the album in the making.

There was this Resonate Music Award that I won in 2009. That afforded me studio time n all, and I went on to record my songs at Chris Avinash’s studio in Bangalore. So, I recorded about 8 songs, and got Rzhude David, the former bass player of Thermal and A Quarter to play bass in some songs, Chris to play guitar, and Muthu Kumar to play percussions.

The songs are somewhat jazzed up and has a band sound. So, right now, I already put up two songs on Soundcloud. I mean to spread it around through gigs and all, and just do it like that.

What should we be looking forward to in the album?

Oh well….my songs sung in a studio I suppose. The album is a completely different side and sound of me. For those who have heard me before, all solo and live, I’d just say it grew on me, it would on you too. The real music is in live performance I feel. So just get to the live gigs, and an album could be a sweet takeaway.

How can we gain access to your music?

Keep looking out in soundcloud right now, plan to populate it with more songs…some from a recent gig at CounterCulture in Bangalore.

There’s my facebook page, which I CONSTANTLY update, then my myspace page, and then my youtube page. Haha. So I’m there on the internet through and through. But Soundcloud’s the best bet. And Gigs of course, that’s the best and nicest way to get hold of my music…if you want.

Upcoming gigs?

Yeah, well, there’s this Tribute to Women by Rolling Stones in Bangalore on the June 24^th.

If you could tour with a local band, who would that be and why?

A local band…I would say Peter Cat and Recording Co, a band from Delhi. They were all so delightful. But I may not necessarily fit in, but it’s a fun band…looks like. For my own music, I’d just want a nice, laidback, lazy prodigal double bass player, and a kickass percussionist. Am set on the guitar, feel shifty givin up that spot.

Ultimate aim?

Right now, I just want a versatile, mind-blowing set-list, and gigs all over the country. And then, gigs all over the world. I just want to keep travelling, and making music. I’d hope to meet a million cool people as I go, and strike a jackpot somewhere somehow. But to keep moving and playing songs, would pretty much be it. I’d very much like that.

G’s Music….

A birdie told me an album might be in the making. However, it hasn’t been entirely sure if the album is still in the making or Gowri might just release the tracks on Soundcloud instead.  Nevertheless, it’s good to be optimistic.

A few of her other tracks are available on Soundcloud but still, I am nice so will share them here as well. But you HAVE to visit her site, for she updates them regularly with newer tracks.

“Bangalore’d” is an acoustic pieced, somewhat along the veins of Kaki King’s “Doing The Wrong Thing”. Worth the listen!

“Tea” is a another track to look out for. Most of her tracks or should I say almost all of them tells a story each. A different theme is tackled in each. The variance provides for a fresh beginning with each number.

“Hello” is up for free download. Good music and you barely lifted your wallet! How cool is that?! This is one track that is a tad more jazzy compared to the rest. My favorite too; apart from the Guilt Series “Cruel Luck” track, which by the way is awe- to-the-some.

Hello [free download] by Gowri

The tracks to really look out for would be “Hello”, “Tea” and a few others that I had the privilege to listen to but isn’t officially out yet. So, you just gotta trust me and take my word for her music, will you?

Last bit of news before I leave you to sway to her beat, Gowri J. will be performing at Kyra, Bangalore for Taj Divanta’s Divas of Rock, together with Sulk Station and the Petri Dish Project. Event begins at 9:00pm. More details can be found here.

Here’s a chance to go catch the dudette strumming away live. If you will be hanging around Bangalore in a fortnight, DON”T MISS IT!

 

Gowri Live at CounterCulture from fluorescent films on Vimeo.

Author’s Note: If you have been diagnosed with the following, it’s recommended you contact me and I will get back to you with the remedy!

• You have a favorite musician that you want featured in Indie Rhythms
• You know a budding artist and he needs a platform to spread the word
• You came across an album that swept you off your feet or made you crash into a wall even
• You witnessed this amazing live performance and you wanna share the experience with us (OK for this one you cannot directly contact me.)

Now all of the above would gladly put a smile on my face and perhaps a gift in your mailbox.
Thank You for Tuning in!

Note: Images courtesy of Gowri Jayakumar.

Blues Conscience: All Soul-ed Up!

We’re back!

This time we put our soul on the line in featuring Blues Conscience from Chennai. I have to say they belong to the minority of indie bands, that actually go onstage in suits and yes, hats too. A three member band composed of Anek Ahuja on Vocals and Bass, Aum Janikiraman on Vocals and Guitars and Neil Smith on Drums. They claim it all began at a sister’s wedding. Indian Weddings? Blues? I couldn’t connect but who cares. All it took was a wedding to bring out the blues in these dudes. Voila!

Where they came from, how they ended up doing what they are doing now is better expressed in Anek Ahuja’s own words.

Tell us about Blues Conscience.

We’re a 3 power act, just like “Cream”. Although, we do collaborate with other musicians such as Maarten Visser on saxophone, Siddharth Kumar on keyboards. We also did a stand-up comedy and blues act with Shyam Kumar. As a 3 piece we got our music figured out as base, to let any other musician collaborate easily with us.

How was the band formed?

The band was formed to perform at my sister’s wedding. Although we did not restrict ourselves to blues, soon after the wedding, we thought why not do a blues act. Since all 3 of us really enjoyed, playing and listening to it.

Why Blues Conscience?

‘Cos it didn’t restrict us to authentic blues but rather, we play music which is heavily influenced by the blues.

A Blues Band amongst the rapidly growing punk, hard rock, metal indie scene in India…How does it feel?

It feels great! There aren’t too many blues bands out there. I guess ‘cos all the newer bands are pretty young, and cater to a young audience. The blues has more soul, and appeals to a much more mature audience.

You guys do this full time or have separate jobs apart from this?

We all have separate jobs as you might be aware, of India’s opportunities for musicians. Moreover, we’d like to get richer faster so we can buy ourselves better equipment. I run a graphic design/advertising agency here in Chennai called Whoa Mama Design, Aum runs a similar agency called MMU Communications and Neil works at Amazon.

Major Influences in your music?

Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Chris Rea….

Inspirations behind the song writing?

Most of our ‘writing’ is never really written. The words just come, while jamming on a guitar, and then we take it; twist it around and see what comes out of it. Mostly for new songs, the lyrics change a couple of times during a show before it’s properly set. Although Aum our guitarist likes writing his songs with many versus. I like to keep it simple I guess.

How’d you guys managed “blue” and “Barack Obama” to work in the same line for the track Barack Obama.

Barack Obama was not written for him. It was written for an American girlfriend of mine, who at the time, was returning, to the states as he won the elections. I didn’t want her to leave. “So the only way I could make her stay was if Barack Obama comes with me”.

Not forgetting the “interesting” Shaggin’ Ma Dog (????) – How did that came about?

Shaggin ma dog, a pretty popular hit on the Chennai circuit, was originally written to cheer up a close friend of mine, when his dash hound died. I know, it’s dark humor, but it did cheer him up. And then, the song was used once anyone else’s dog died.

Which is harder?  Writing a song, creating the music for it or performing live?

I wouldn’t say either of them are hard. Although performing it live really determines how well you’re able to shape the soul in to the song.

 

How important is clinching a record deal?

I have no clue. Right now to us not too important I guess.

If you could tour with another band, say from the local arena, who would that be? And why?

Well I think “Soulmate” from Shillong, is an awesome band. They got their feet, into the authentic blues with great riffs and amazing vocals, I’d love to tour with them. I guess also cause they have a great fan following, and would help us reach out a bit as well.

Future Albums?

Well we have a demo of 8 songs, out of which 2 are really covers. But we have written about 10 songs now, probably write another 2-4 more, and call it an album sometime soon. We also will re-record all the songs from the demo, as that was a rushed job.

Upcoming Gig?

We’ll be playing at Counter Culture Bangalore as an ode to Robert Johnson – Ode to the Blues on May 7th. There are other bands playing as well.

Which song from your originals would you recommend for someone who hasn’t heard of Blues Conscience?

Kamasutra, Tipalo, & Shaggin ma dog.

People who love (____) will love our music.

SCOTCH

Music…

They have yet to release a solid album. But, demo songs and a few cover songs are already up for audience listening. And if you have been around Chennai long enough, you would have heard them perform at a myriad of locations around the Southern Coast.

Kamasutra and Morning After were my favorite tracks amongst their many compositions. Be it any track, the vocalist had the x-factor in his voice to pull you into the track and perhaps get you to groove a step or two. The saxophone accompaniment is an another reason why one should really listen to this track .  Blues Santa was another track I sort of liked. But I can’t say it was a favorite. It was not bad in its own way.

That was Kamasutra for you. Fancy their music now? It doesn’t quite stop there. Although my selections here differ from what Anek suggested, you need to get the best of both worlds so I’m still gonna go ahead with my choices.

Morning After was a tad less upbeat but similar to the previous track the vocals were amazing and let’s not forget the instruments behind this particular track. They were the unsung heroes.

 

Most of their tracks reminded me of John Mayer (but that could just be me) and perhaps Jimi Hendrix for you. Either way, the tracks were definitely worth listening too. Since many of the tracks were demos they were fairly short. No worries, we have been assured that the band will be re-doing some of their demos and we might just be treated to a full fledged album soon.

Red Jam and Memphis Blues are stand alone non-lyrical tracks. They bring with them the beauty of the music these guys are capable of coming up with. It’s a great start for one who has never been exposed to the genre before. I particularly loved the way Red Jam started playing.

One need not be into the entire “blues thingy” to get the feel of it. That’s the thing. You can be a newbie to the entire genre but still groove to it. Unlike metal whereby if you’re not into head banging, you’re just torturing your ears. For starters, because hardly we feature blues here, I’d recommend you guys to go treat yourselves to Blue Conscience.

To keep track of Blues Conscience

Besides the featured tracks you can also check out their other tracks and learn a bit more about them.

If you think you have known all about them and are already a fan, time do what I do and obviously preach: stalk! Simply stalk them on their fan page, (don’t we just love social networking sites) keep track of their upcoming gigs and go attend! And of course return to that same fan page and leave them an encouraging compliment on how much you enjoyed the show. And if the comment boxes on these sites aren’t enough for you, write to us (or mail to: sip[at]gingerchai[dot]com) about your experience and we will feature it.

Ode To The Blues – 100 Years of Robert Johnson

Before you start reading about it, I have to tell you that the event sounds uber exciting. There is a whole range of items arranged for the audience. I’d be more than glad to attend. So here’s the thing, if you are in Bangalore, I suggest you go have some blues fun on my behalf. Now onto the real stuff…

Celebrating the 100 years since the birth of world renowned blues guitarist Robert Johnson, a week of movies, music and maybe popcorn has been organized. And it starts today!

If you’re around the region, you ought to go catch up on the movie screenings that begins on the 1st till the 6th. Movies that will be screened include Feel Like Going Home by Martin Scorsese, The Road to Memphis by Richard Pearce, Piano Blues by Clint Eastwood to name a few.

And that’s not all!

As previously mentioned by Anek, Blues Conscience is also part of the big performance!

On the 7th of May, Blues Conscience together with HFT, Ministry of Blues, Gowri Jayakumar and a whole lot of other artistes will be performing at Counter Culture, Bangalore as a tribute to Robert Johnson. For more details check out Ode To The Blues.

You will be attending yea? Come on…get off that couch will you!

Advaita – The Mystic 8

Advaita, the first of an eight member band I was lucky enough to come across. Based in New Delhi (one more reason to visit Delhi), this fusion band is made up of not 3, or 4 but 8 individuals who have come together to create magic that lives up to its Sanskrit definition of Advaita – Non-duality.

Advaita encompasses the talents of Abhishek Mathur (Guitars, Electronics), Anindo Bose (Keyboards, Electronics), Chayan Adhikari (Lead Vocals – Western), Aman Singh Rathore (Drums, Percussion), Suhail Yusuf Khan (Vocals – Sarangi, Hindustani), Ujwal Nagar (Vocals – Hindustani), Mohit Lal (Tabla, Percussions) and Gaurav Chintamani (Bass).

Back in 2004, eight dudes who had the common interest of making music got together. Their sole aim was to create music that was uniquely theirs. Eight people collaborating together to create pieces that they all believed in sounds dramatic already. Crazy even. But guess what, Advaita succeeded and went on to give their debut album Grounded in Space early last year.

Abhishek, the lead guitarist shares with Gingerchai the secret behind the oneness that eight musicians share…

How was Advaita formed?

In 2004 a bunch of us from different bands and ensembles got together to try and form a different kind of ‘fusion’ band – although we don’t really care too much for the word fusion. The idea was to make soulful songs incorporating elements of the kind of textures we had imbibed from western rock and pop and merge those with Indian classical melodies and moods, but try and do it in a way that the elements blended seamlessly.

Major Influences in Advaita’s music?

There are too many and they keep on increasing. First of all, Indian Classical music and its inert spirituality and depth. From western music there’s a lot of the classic rock stuff old and new – Pink Floyd, Coldplay. Electronic stuff like Massive Attack, Zero 7, Air and of course other styles of merging East and West from Talvin Singh and Nitin Swahney and projects like ‘One Giant leap’ to the great ‘Shakti’ and stalwarts like the late Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

How different is Advaita from the rest of the Indie Bands in India?

Like many others we are unique in the kind of sound and style we are exploring. Although there are a few other indie bands doing things with folk and classical elements with rock or pop, I think Advaita has a distinct mystical sound. We want to sound psychedelic, but not in the traditional sense. We’re also unique due to the size of our line up!!  (Agreed on that note!)

Tell us about Grounded in Space?

Well, it is our first album and the entire process took almost three years to finally take it out, thats a story too large for this interview. (Sobs)

But we’re very proud of the album. Special mention must be made for the support of Mr Shantanu Hudlikar at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai. The two weeks we spent there recording the album were really memorable.

Inspiration for the lyrics behind the album?

We get inspired by life in general but sometimes the lyrics can be quite abstract like on Suspended or Gates of Dawn. Then there’s some personal stuff like Miliha or Hamsadhwani, and especially So Lost.

Am I right to assume Advaita wants to keep its music at an alternative cum carnatic approach? Is keeping the compositions mellow the motive? Well I personally loved the album.

Not really, we don’t use much carnatic music in our compositions as our classical members are trained in the north Indian Hindustani style.  (It was mistake on my part to have confused both Hindustani & Carnatic.)

Frankly we don’t want to be pigeon holed into any specific sound – some of the new material is very different from what one might expect of us – a lot of it is not mellow at all.

How important is clinching a record deal?

Well, one does want to get their music out there and clinching a record deal was a big leap in that direction. But having said that; people are finding many other ways of getting their stuff out to people through other innovative means, especially using the internet. So they might argue a record deal isn’t important. The music business is changing as we speak so one has to keep their eyes and ears open.

Biggest challenge as an Indie band in India?

In this scene to survive is hard enough and then to earn and get your music heard and get shows, etc. The list is huge! In India one big problem is that our market is so much in the grip of Bollywood that there is little room for other things. This is really sad. Because India has a rich tradition in the arts and it seems these days people just want the same nonsensical emotionally plastic stuff over and over again.

The other side of it is that promoters, event companies, radio, TV channels etc just don’t want to give a chance to anything else. Our record company tells us whenever they do sample testing for their releases, Advaita’s album gets a very good response which makes me feel like – people will like us if they get the chance to find out we exist! (You bet! You have a crazy fan right here!)

That’s a very frustrating feeling for us and other indie bands like us who don’t have the resources to market extensively!

If you can tour with another band, say from the local arena, who would that be?

I don’t know – the truth is we like to make our shows the kind where the audience really gets into our vibe so we actually prefer playing alone. But one band we admire a lot on the scene is Avial.

What keeps the spirit high amongst Advaita? I mean there are 8 of you! How do you manage to create music?

We all are good friends and hang out even when we’re not practicing. For any team to function efficiently the members need to have a good personal equation and in a band like ours where there is so much going on in terms of parts and arrangements – it’s a challenge to keep it together and make music that really reflects our collective personality. Motivation is not really a problem because we really believe in what we’re trying to do.

Where does Advaita sees itself in 5 years?

This is hardly the kind of scene where one can plan so far ahead; we’re just taking it one season at a time.

People who love (____) will love our music.

a) People who love staring at the sea will love our music.

b) People who love chocolate will love our music.

Future Albums? Upcoming gigs?

Ya the next album should be out next year – we’ve got the material but we like to take time to let the arrangements and stuff mature.

More about Grounded In Space…

Abhishek shared the making of their debut whereas as an avid Indie music seeker or new music if you will, I have to say I loved this album.  It has been on replay mode for some time now. No, there was no exaggeration there. The general feel one gets to this album would be along the lines of drinking hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night. I’m serious dude! So wipe that expression off your face.

Considering how those who love a good chocolate bar and enjoy zoning out into the sea would love their music, I wasn’t surprised that I came out loving the tracks of this album.

It was comforting, soulful, and hardly do you hear a song where the lyrics go “Trying to find, find a way to go..” accompanied with an Indian stringed instrument in the background.  Which I have now come to know is a Sarangi. The vocals were so unassuming and soothing it comes as no surprise that So Lost is one of my favorite numbers. Although I am going to repeat, the whole album rocked.

Mere Yaar, starts slow and ends up growing onto you. It continues on with English lines in between. Recall, J-pop with its English one liners thrown in just for the benefit of having a non-japanese lyric. Well, this number is NOT one of them! It was a stark difference. The lines blended in so well with its backing Hindi lyrics. That is one classic fusion piece, right there.  Highly Recommended!

Several other numbers to look out for would be Raasiya, Hamsadhwani ,Ghir Ghir, Durga for a tad faster bit and I will go on, but instead I’m telling you listen to the entire album. You should catch them live if possible and fill us in here at Indie Rhythms.

To listen to Advaita…

Log onto their Myspace, last.fm or reverbnation sites to give your ears a pleasant preview before they start begging you to go grab the album.

And to keep up with their performances in Delhi and around the nation or perhaps in your non-Indian continent, social networking is a gift.

Author’s Note: Apologies for uber long breaks between articles. Attempts will be made to fill the void.

Author’s Note Continued: If you have been diagnosed with the following, it’s recommended you contact me and I will get back to you with the remedy!

• You have a favorite musician that you want featured in Indie Rhythms
• You know a budding artist and he needs a platform to spread the word
• You came across an album that swept you off your feet or made you crash into a wall even
• You witnessed this amazing live performance of an Indie band and you wanna share the experience with us (OK for this one you cannot directly contact me.)
• You think I need to do a better job
• You simply wanna say “Hi Usha, the series rocks”. (Although this can very well be done at the comment’s section)

Now all of the above would gladly put a smile on my face and perhaps a gift in your mailbox.

Thank You for Tuning in!

Note: Images courtesy of Shiv Ahuja & Abhijeet Singh Chauhan (www.advaitaonline.net)