Eight Octaves: Tell us about Eka, and how it all started.
Eka: Benny and Hitesh were members of Euphoria and Lokesh was pursuing a corporate career in Bangalore. However, about 2 and a half years back, during an impromptu jam session, Lokesh and Hitesh, having been part of a band together earlier while in school and college, realised the potential of their musical chemistry. Meanwhile, Benny & Hitesh, having played for Euphoria for over 18 years & 14 years respectively, found themselves at crossroads, choosing to stay true to their principles and values and hoping to further their musical horizons. Around this time, Lokesh moved back to Delhi and a twist of fate brought the three together and there was the birth and inception of EKA. EKA performed together for the first time in August last year and has been performing at leading events and venues within India and internationally ever since.
Eight Octaves: You define your music as ‘Swatantra Rock’. Please tell us what that means.
Eka: We found it very difficult and limiting to classify our music under any one particular genre. We coined the term Swatantra Rock and defined it as ‘Music beyond music, time and boundaries’. To us it means music which is born free, has a purpose, a feel of timelessness and music that knows no boundaries, geographical or that of the mind. With so many styles and forms and genres all across the world to get inspired from and even more to learn from, why put any boundaries on a medium that has the power to connect millions of people irrespective of language, religion, age or background.
While working on a new composition, EKA believes in going with the flow of music and developing it organically into a direction that the song demands. The initial response to our music has been very encouraging and we certainly hope that Swatantra Rock will touch millions of hearts in the days and years to come.
Eight Octaves: Winning the Artist Aloud Group of the Year is a big deal for bands in India. Do enlighten us on the whole experience leading up to the win.
Eka: It is a big deal indeed! You see Benny and Hitesh parted ways with their previous band Euphoria in 2010 and both Eka and Euphoria were vying for the top spot in the popular music category. The rest is history. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who voted for us. It is very encouraging, we feel truly blessed to receive all the love and support from our audience. We hope that we can take our music to as many people as possible worldwide in the days ahead.
Eight Octaves: What inspires and influences you the most while making music?
Eka: Life, love and everything that happen around us and within at different times in our lives.
Eight Octaves: Your song, ‘Satyameva Jayate’, is one of our favourites here. Do tell us what inspired you to write the song and how you went about composing it.
Eka: At the time we wrote this song, we found ourselves at crossroads and we realized it takes a lot of courage to stand up for the truth and tread the more difficult path. The reason why Satyameva Jayate is so close to our hearts is because in this very philosophy lies the genesis of Eka.
Pain does bring out a lot good especially at a time when you are let down the most and betrayed by your friends and you feel like your whole world is crumbling and the churning in your stomach throws up a thing called melody and your brain spins into an orbit of its own and instantly it gets all verbose, the cerebellum gets hyper active and all your motor skills are well invested in and so is your balance. And so it is a melody, a rhythm and you have a balanced sing along song. That’s what pain did. We wonder if Sir Paul McCartney went through the same when he wrote the most played song in the world, “Yesterday” 🙂
Eight Octaves: What can we expect from Eka in the near future?
Eka: We recently released a new song as a tribute to all event management personnel and those associated with the event management fraternity called ‘EEMAgine – nothing is impossible’. While there are songs for various professions, we thought it was time to write a song for events professionals as they are the real unsung heroes behind some of the most incredible experiences in the entertainment world.
Here’s the link:
https://www.reverbnation.com/ekamusic
We are also scheduled to release the video for ‘Satyameva Jayate – voices for a Better India’ on 8th August.In addition to this, we have a couple of studio projects at hand and the season ahead looks promising with lots of shows at Music festivals, literature & art festivals, college festivals and corporate shows coming up.
Eka has recently been signed up as the brand ambassadors for beStylish.com, India’s largest online shoe store, to attract youngsters to the first phase of its ‘Friends of beStylish’ program that encourages partners across various walks of life to connect with the online brand. As friends of beStylish.com, there’s some interesting work that we will be doing together in the days ahead. So, all in all lots of shows including international gigs, recordings, an upcoming album are all part of the plan in the near future.
Eight Octaves: What message would you like to share with upcoming bands and your fans?
Eka: For upcoming bands, a common vision among the members could be a great way to come to common grounds. Do what you believe in, create a sound for yourself over a period of time and most importantly, stick it out together!! For fans, thank you for all your support and we hope to make music that touches your heart and stays with you forever. See you soon at an Eka concert near you!
