Hey Keshav, you are probably one of the biggest names in Indian Metal Scene. How did it all begin?When did you know that you wanted music to be your career?
Haha I wouldn’t really agree but thanks for the kind words! It all began when I was in college and was really getting into a lot of experimental music that no one else at the time seemed interested in doing. So I ended up deciding to make a solo project out of it and started recording scratch tracks, ideas, demos etc – one thing led to another and here we are today!
I had decided pretty much back when I was still a student, that I would make a career in the music industry – at the point being a full-time musician wasn’t really what I had in mind (I was veering more towards the sound engineering side of things) – but yeah, to answer your question, about 8 years ago I’d say.
Tell us about Skyharbor, Marty Friedman and Daniel Tompkins. How did the album all come together?
I always knew from the get go that I wanted our debut album to be as perfect as possible and that I would not rush anything, just let things take their time and get it perfect to the best of my abilities. It was always something I did on the side simply because I love writing music so much, so there was no need or hurry to get an album out fast. I took my time, developed the songs and the production slowly, and along the way I was approached by Dan who expressed an interest in collaborating on a song. Our musical chemistry clicked so well that he ended up singing on the entire ‘Illusion’ disc of the album, and it’s a collaboration I really cherish and want to continue doing for the future.
Marty approached me early last year about collaborating on his solo album Tokyo Juke Box 2 (which was released around September – go get your copy!) and again, from one song I ended up co-writing and arranging over half the album. His solos on ‘Catharsis’ and ‘Celestial’ from our album was him returning the favor.
How would you describe your sound?
Honestly I feel we’ve covered quite a sizable amount of musical ground on the album – there’s reflective and melancholy moments, and there’s pure balls-out riffs as well. If I had to pick two elements that are a common thread in our songs, I’d say groove and melody.
How do you go about composing music? What inspires you?
Just music, really. Not so much bands as of late, but a lot of film scores, game scores, OSTs, things like that. Anything can lead to that spark of inspiration when you get a riff or a melody in your head. If I’m fortunate to be around my recording setup when it happens, I lay the idea down and try to expand on it. Usually when I know in my head that I have a good idea going, the rest of the song just flows from there. A lot of it is a confidence thing.
Your musical influences?
Oceansize, Devin Townsend, Karnivool, Deftones, Meshuggah… way too many.
How do you manage work and music?
I record bands full time, so work *is* music for me in a way.
What is your philosophy on music?
If it’s honest, it’s usually a winner.
What is important to you when you are on stage?
Having a good time and locking in to that groove with the rest of the band. Everything else kinda just disappears.
Do you have any message for your fans?
Thank you ever so much for your patience and support – you mean the world to us. Buy our album and merch if you like us and help us make a career out of this – we are finally at a stage where that may be possible, it’s your support now that will help us get there 🙂
Just in case any of our readers don’t know, where can we find you and your music online?
You can preorder ‘Blinding White Noise’ our debut album, as well as merch from Basick Records’ online store – store.basickrecords.com. Two songs off of the album are streaming on their bandcamp page as well – basickrecords.bandcamp.com.
