Editorial - 8octaves Music

February 9, 2012

February 9, 2012September 12, 2022 Varun Khatri

What Makes You an Underground Band

Sometime back, I had written an article about the Underground bands in India; titled – The Rise of Underground Music in India. It was satisfactorily accepted by people, but I personally felt it lacked the punch. Well, not surprisingly I had a critic to support my claim – Mr.Sahil Makhija a.k.a. ‘The Demonstealer’, front man and guitarist of Demonic Resurrection. That was the time I made up my mind to write this article and thanks to a nice little chat with the man himself, I got all the details I needed to go ahead with it.

So what makes you an Underground Band?

The answer to the question is as relative as the interpretations of William Wordsworth’s poems. No one seems to have a definite answer to the question as such. The term “Underground” is basically tagged along with Metal genre in general, and what I could make out from my research is that it includes sub-genres which doesn’t have many takers; like Grind, Crust, etc. The bands playing these genres have an idea about the volume of crowd they can generate and normally they are not interested in fame. So if you would ask me if Underground bands need some kind of an award ceremony or big event to be recognised, my answer would be – No.

But in recent times, due to the unnecessary genre bashings and a trend of showing their “Kvlt” status, there has been a conflict and debate over Underground bands needing more recognition. There are bands, who regardless of how good or bad they play or whatever genre they play, want to be associated with the Underground scene. They would be bad mouthing about specific mainstream genres; but when asked about their influences, they would be vomiting names of bands belonging to the genres they talk shit about. And the stupidest part – they would be playing covers of Metallica in all of their shows; Metallica is supposed to be the best known “Sell-out” band in the history of the genre.

Yes it is true that you need a crowd to attend your show. But if you are hosting a gig with bands playing Grind and Doom, you won’t get a huge turnout even if you post a full page advertisement in all the famous newspapers of the country.

If you have chosen to be an Underground band, you must be aware of the fact that you have chosen a path where you expect no limelight. You are doing it for the love of music and you should stay true to that. There is no use ranting about how many people attend the shows and those who don’t are poseurs. Frankly, you are making a fool out of yourself. India is still growing as far as the gigs are concerned; hence we get to see an average of 200+ crowd during underground shows. In Norway; where more than 50 such gigs are arranged each week, you would hardly get 30-40 people attending your show, that too if you are lucky.

My point here is simple – if you have a band and want to make a name for yourself, Underground is not what you should publicise yourself as. Yes, you will be called a poseur for being mainstream.Your music shall be made fun of at every possible opportunity. But with time and maturity you shall learn to accept all the criticisms and the only thing you will be focused on would be your goal.

As for genres outside Metal, the term Underground does not apply. But something similar exists there too; it is called Indie. Independent artists are the ones who go the extra mile to create something never heard of before, a totally new genre at times. The best example: Motherjane. They took the country by storm with their never before heard brand of Carnatic Rock. But at the end of the day, they started as an Independent band.

So if you have aspirations of making it big in the music scene, notching up album deals, performing all over the country and maybe abroad too; then you should consider sticking to the basics and going Mainstream. If money, fame and groupies don’t matter much to you and you are happy with your family, job and just want to play once in a few months for the love of music; go Underground, you will find lots of support and like-minded people there. And you never know, you may get yourself an album deal too if you are good enough.

January 29, 2012

January 29, 2012September 12, 2022 Amrutha Ananth

IS CLASSICAL MUSIC DYING?

“Over a period of time, the western audience has adapted to Indian classical music. The beautiful aspect about western audience is that after a concert they give standing ovation for 10-15 minutes,” Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan once said. Khan believes that it is a fallacy to say that Classical music is dying and feels that even the western audience has adapted to our music. The question is – Is classical music dying?

Speaking about it, a large audience even today believe that no genre of music will die out anymore, they just become marginalized. Like everything else. There are no more monolithic, big things that people are into, but small niches instead. We could say that even the classical music scene may splinter even further. Unfortunately the prejudice of ‘classical music is for the posh and the rich’ has been replaced by another prejudice – ‘classical music is a thing of the past.’ Whether it is or isn’t the fault of contemporary composers themselves that they fail to reach an audience as substantial as the composers of the past is a different discussion, but the widespread idea that classical music is something they did in the 18th and 19th centuries and has no relevance anymore to people today no doubt hurts its overall appeal. The fact that 98% of the populace would fail to name even one living composer can’t be a good thing.There is a large mass which thinks – “classical music is music for musicians”. Classical music’s approaches to harmony and melodic development empower the music to offer long and complex narratives that connect strongly with people’s emotions, seeming to go to the heart of the human condition.

Now, with classical music losing stature and status, some fear that this kind of musical narrative, and the very ability to construct such narratives, might disappear. Technology is fostering and cultivating a younger audience. Ambitious young musicians with nothing more than a laptop and a copy of Finale by Make Music, can compose entire symphonies from home. And venues like Video Games Live are inspiring such talent, also in a way leading to the death of classical music.

One might be tempted to predict, if not the end, then the beginning of the end of the classical recital. Doing so, however, would be to mistake its enduring influence on life and culture, and the quiet resurgence underway. According to American composer David Maslanka, “Classical and symphonic music rarely makes headlines because it is almost by definition old.” And though today’s headlines are often bleak, he adds, “Classical music is a very powerful undercurrent in these very turbulent times. It is a force pulling us through this age.”
It’s dwindling in popularity, because it’s greatest fans are now dying of old age, and the new generation isn’t quite able to make up for it.

But recording has allowed classical music to spread across the world in a way it wasn’t able to even 50 years ago. So, perhaps we can even say classical music is even more known by the world than it ever has?Classical music has moved off its pedestal to assume a place among other wonderful kinds of world music, contributing its voice to the global chorus while making room for fresh musical ideas to grow. The change in classical music’s status has happened because our culture has changed, as cultures do, and its musical needs have shifted. If classical music’s ability to speak for the human spirit once appeared unlimited in scope, now the music appears to have limitations. It may not speak for everyone; it may not speak about everything.

We can still admire, appreciate, and love classical music, and support it, while also seeing that it does not quite fit society’s current self-perception and that it ignores some important issues.

December 28, 2011

December 28, 2011September 12, 2022 Amrutha Ananth

The Music Scene Outside The Metros

Parikrama – Delhi

Galeej Gurus – Bangalore

Something Relevant – Mumbai

Big cities. Big bands. Ever wondered what kids in small towns are doing? Ever wondered why the music bug hasn’t bitten them? Well, it has. It’s simply a matter of awareness. We just aren’t aware of bands from small towns. They exist, and they are striving to carve a niche for themselves, slowly but surely. Here’s a list of some of them:

Sparsh – Hailing from Ranchi, they are a classic rock band, who got their biggest break on December 21, 2007, when they performed at Pizza By The Bay in Mumbai. The band is greatly inspired by Deep Purple and Pink Floyd, with Ajit Horo on bass guitar, Ujjwal Lakra on lead guitar, Rishiraj Kachhap on rhythm guitar, and Adolf Khalko on drums. They have all studied outside Ranchi, and have performed in places like Pune, Kolkata, and Guwahati. They also formed the Jharkhand Rock Music Association to help promote the rock music scene and also help other emerging bands.

Joshish – As the name suggests, the band’s music is lively, inspiring, and heartening. Joshish started in 2006 in Bhopal, with Asif Zaidi as the lead vocal, Shatarchi Hundet on lead guitar, Shwetang Shankar on drums, Sameer Rahat as bassist/backup vocal, Amit Mishra on rhythm guitar/vocals, and Pranjal Joshi on keyboard/vocals. Their first break came when they hosted the Youth First 2006 at Bhopal. There is a distinct Indian classical influence in their music. Interestingly, the band claims that they are not restricted to any one genre of music and that their music is ‘universal’, just like music is. They do, however, play their own genre of music at times; something they call ‘Cold Metal’.

Jishnu who composed GMD and Sabka Katega for Bodhi Tree

Bodhi Tree – ‘XL ki kudiyan’ and ‘GMD’ are perhaps a few of the most memorable Hindi songs by bands that the youth remembers. Sung by Bodhi Tree, a band from XLRI, the B-school, these songs are imprinted in our memories for their catchy and contentious lyrics. The band consists of members from senior and junior batches and keeps getting replaced with every new batch. Bodhi Tree started in 2004 and they play rock, oldies, sufi and eastern. They play mostly in the college campus and practice at night.

Origin – This band started with three members, who were together in school. Now a six-member band based in Mysore, they draw their inspirations from Scorpions, Metallica, and Iron Maiden, and put themselves in the classic rock and heavy metal genre. It has Sweekrith on bass, Nikhil Koundilya on drums, Shreyas as the vocals, Nadia on keyboards, and Dhiraj and Nikhil Eapen as guitarists. They’ve participated in a lot of intra-city competitions and are the first choice for most of the popular destinations for gigs in Mysore. Currently working on originals, they’re also trying to make a particular genre, ‘Vedic Rock’, popular. Origin is one of the few bands in India that plays this, and the fact that their vocalist is trained in Carnatic music definitely helps. They are also trying a fusion of many instruments, such as the bongo and the drums, the violin and keyboard, etc.

Afflatus – A part of India’s own ‘far east’ movement, this all-woman band is from Shillong. Originating in 2004, they’ve got Grace Miller as the vocals, Sharon Zadeng on bass, Karen Donoghue on guitar, and Mercy Miller on drums. Mercy, Karen and Sharon have earlier been members of bands, and Grace was a vocalist in her father’s gospel group since she was a child. Their debut performance in 2004 won them a prize at the national level. Afflatus was also the opening band for the South Asian Bands Festival ’09 at New Delhi.

Decayed Souls Renegade – Going by the name, one assumes this band from Ahmedabad has some connection with Satan. That assumption isn’t wrong. It was formed on Satan’s Day (July 6) in 2008. The current line-up of this extreme metal band: Vishal Dave as the vocals, Joel Mogera on guitars and as backing vocals, Siddharth Nair on guitars, Urvish Patel on bass, Falgun Pandit on drums, and Rishi Dave on keyboards. Decayed Souls Renegade draw their metal creativity from Cradle of Filth, Children of Bodom, and others. They won their first competition (SFM Rock Competition) in 2009, but they have been only semi-active since then due to the members’ varied academic pursuits. Currently, they’re preparing hard for upcoming band competitions.

The Down Troddence – More popularly known by their acronym ‘T.D.T’, this band is from Kannur, Kerala. Their music is of the metal, trash metal, death metal variety, and they marked their existence in this scene with their debut single ‘Death Vanity’. Comprising of Varun and Rinoy on guitars, Ganesh on drums, Munz as the vocals, Sushin on keyboards, and Nezer on bass and as vocals, T.D.T aims at causing a social revolution of sorts, as their songs are mostly about the evils in the social system. The band recently released a music video for their single, ‘Shiva’, and is currently working on their debut album.

A4Apple – This band from Manipur is a punk rock act, comprising of three brothers. John, Lawrence, and Paul developed an interest in music in school itself, and would often jam together. The band took shape in 2002, and their first concert was at the Maram Students’ Conference Meet in 2003. This was followed with gigs at Chennai’s Unwind Center, as well as in other places in the North-East. The trio is inspired by bands like Blink 182, Green Day, and Nirvana, but hasn’t found time to get together and perform owing to their individual academic schedules. Regardless, they strive to meet twice a year to make new music.

There are several other bands from small towns all over the country, all trying to make it big in their own way. And not just in English, either. A lot of these bands play in Hindi or other vernacular languages, too. Audiences are now also more receptive to such bands, thereby propelling them to much larger platforms over time. One can only hope for this trend to keep moving upwards all across India.

8octaves Music

Category: Editorial

What Makes You an Underground Band

IS CLASSICAL MUSIC DYING?

The Music Scene Outside The Metros

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