1. C M Y K
TIMES TRENDS TIMES TRENDS TIMES TRENDST I M E S T R E N D S ~ [ 1 0 ]
With a charming disregard for genre and
image, indie musicians in the city are
creating their own distinct sound.
Genres are blurred and stereotypes,
broken. Indie music in the city is
coming of age and that can only be good
news. Harini Sriram tunes in…Indie-genous
{ The Shakey Rays } { Family Cheese } { Pakoda }
AT
first, you hear a guitar riff that slips
effortlessly into jazz; then, a drum beat
drifts into electronica, with traces of trip
hop. Elements of ska, punk, rock, jazz and blues
register their presence. Trying to slot such music into a
particular genre, let's admit it, is rocket science. Which
is why we come across genres as bizarre as psychedelic
jazz or gothic post punk electronica (it actually exists).
But here's the truth. When bands in the city tell us that
they do not want to slot their music into a particular
genre, they really mean it. Do they think it's cool? We'll
never know.
Apurv Isaac of city-based band Family Cheese, says,
"We play anything from Cuban jazz to electronic. We do
not stick to one genre, as we believe it is important for
a band to constantly explore newer horizons and evolve
its own sound. We incorporate different elements and
weave them into our music." Apart from presenting a
whole new aesthetic, this approach also makes
business sense for bands that want to stick around for
long. Apurv adds, "You need to re-invent yourself to
leave a lasting impression; else, you will end up
sounding like just another rock band that churns out
recycled versions of its own songs." He has a point. Not
only does it provide variety to the city's music circuit,
but also, in a sense, satiates the audience's appetite for
good original music.
This, Saroop Oommen, singer-songwriter and
manager-arts, Unwind Center, believes has been a
game-changer. "People in the city want to listen to
different forms of music; they are more open to new
sounds, new bands and new influences," he says.
Parallel to this quest for good music, a new wave of
talented musicians has surfaced on the city's musical
horizon, bringing a much-needed authenticity and
personality to the music scene, as a whole. Saroop adds,
"There's been a resurgence of quality music; musicians
in the city are taking the song writing process more
seriously and are experimenting with interesting chord
structures, as opposed to typical chord arrangements
in rock and metal." More importantly, he believes that
musicians in the city are in touch with their
ILLUSTRATION:SANDHYAPRABHAT
in a song

2. C M Y K
TIMES TRENDS TIMES TRENDS TIMES TRENDST I M E S T R E N D S ~ [ 1 1 ]
{ Duality } { Harsha Iyer } { Tails on Fire }
expression.
A case in point is Harsha Iyer. This 19-year-old city-
based musician made a stylish entry into the city's
indie music circuit with his album, Curious Toys, last
year. The album with its post-punk leanings and
Hollywood film score influences is a neat debut; it does
not, however, rely on a "formula" and in that sense, is
rather unconventional. "When I started writing songs
and setting them to tune, I did not set a boundary or
decide to stick to doing a particular kind of music," he
says, "I like listening to different kinds of music, from
Elvis Costello to Hans Zimmer. I believe that as an
artiste, you need to keep evolving; you need to push
your limits and experiment. The key is to make your
music unpredictable and you cannot do that if you
take the same route to song writing every time."
Harsha is already working on his second album,
which, predictably, is different from his earlier work.
"It's more piano/acoustic driven with an emphasis on
vocal harmonies," he reveals.
Following a similar approach to music, The Shakey
Rays, a city-based band, believe in throwing genre
right out off the window. "Genre is irrelevant," says
Dhruva Gautham of the band. We can see what he
means. The band is essentially rooted in Rhythm and
Blues (R n B) and while it draws inspiration from the
likes of Otis Redding and James Brown, it is equally
inspired by musicians like Kishore Kumar. "Our
musical influences are diverse and we never wanted to
go "mainstream" or stick to a particular kind of music.
We write songs and set them to tune in pop, blues,
rock, you name it. We do what the song demands,"
explains Dhruva.
It is this exposure to different forms of music and
the constant need to dabble in various genres that has
resulted in musicians playing with different bands. TT
Sriram, a city-base guitarist, for instance, plays with
Tails On Fire (an alternative rock band) Blacklisted (a
city-based blues/garage rock band) and Skrat (a city-
based Brit-influenced new wave punk band). He
believes that it is important to demarcate your line of
music, as it helps create a unqiue identity. "It's insane
to plug your musical influences into one band; you
need to break them down and concentrate on one
genre at a time. The rock fraternity in the city is close-
knit and rightly so, for we need each other’s support to
draw in crowds," he adds. Aum Janakiram, a city-
based guitarist, also plays for bands across genres -
Blues Conscience (blues), Bonfire Collective (pop) and
Little Babooshka's Grind (rock). Musicians are working
on building their repertoire and juggling multiple
genres, even as they spend hours scouring the internet
for non-mainstream music.
This blurring of genres has led every band in the
city to work on a distinct style of its own, something
that makes the band stand out. Pakoda, a city-based
jazz rock band, thrives on its unique song writing
technique. As Kaushik Viswanathan, the band's
vocalist explains, "Our songs are mostly gibberish."
And no, he is not being modest here; what he means is
that the songs are actually gibberish. "Our strength lies
in our unique sound and instrumentation; any lyric we
add is purely incidental. Our performances are built on
vocals and the lyrics (if any) in the songs act as fillers,"
explains Kaushik, very matter-of-factly. The style has
worked in the band's favour and they have built their
own fan-base.
Duality, a city-based acoustic band, specialises in
playing its own versions of songs by bands as varied as
Iron Maiden and The Eagles. "We give an acoustic twist
to these songs and we compose our own songs too," says
Manoj Sreekumar of the band. He says that this is, per-
haps, the best time to be an indie musician in the city.
"Musicians in the city are branching out and are not
limiting themselves to a particular genre; they do not
want to be typecast. They are constantly challenging
themselves to be versatile," he adds.
The city's indie music scene is, no doubt, evolving.
The guitar-slinging 20-something in the city is breaking
the barriers of genre and image to find his own groove,
project his own signature style, and most importantly,
sing from the soul. It's the age of the genre-bender.
“It's insane to plug your musical
influences into one band; you need
to break them down and concen-
trate on one genre at a time”
T T Sriram
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