The underground music scene in India is getting crazier day by day. Not only have the number of bands increased, but the innovativeness they possess is bliss. Rainbow is one such upcoming Progressive Rock/Metal band from Bangalore. We caught up with them for a little chat. Read on…
Eight Octaves: Greetings from Eight Octaves! So we are seeing a lot of rain in Bangalore whereas in the rest of India, it’s getting pretty hot! How are you guys doing? Are the gigs coming good?
Praveen: Greetings. We’re doing very well, and the gigs have been getting better for us. More venues/events, lot of enthusiastic bands and organizers. We’re riding along with it.
Eight Octaves: Your music takes a very innovative form of Progressive Rock/Metal, a forms very new in the Indian music scene. How would you describe it? Whom would cite as your primary influences?
Praveen: We had set out as an experimental band initially without any specific genre in mind, and wanted to create something unique. We all come from different musical backgrounds, and it has been a great learning experience. We’re probably termed progressive due to the variations and length in our compositions but, our music as of now, has a flavour of everything. We are in the middle of writing an EP that will truly define our new direction in music. Our influences are far too many, right from The Beatles to Maestro Ilayaraja.
Eight Octaves: So, what’s the story behind the name ‘Rainburn’?
Praveen: We were simply pondering over a few oxymorons and this name popped up after a few trials. This has to be the least complicated of our efforts till date.
Eight Octaves: Please enlighten us with the story of your early days of formation.
Praveen: ‘Rainburn’ kicked off in 2011 with Vats Iyengar on guitars/vocals and ex-keyboard player Avik Chakravarty, who worked together as professional music instructors. I (Praveen) moved to Bangalore about the same time on a new job, and started attempts to join a bunch of talented musicians. I met Avik, made my way through the drum auditions, and Jayaram Kasi swiftly followed me on the bass. After few months of relentless jamming, we were back to the start when Avik and Jayaram parted ways in mid 2012 owing to other professional commitments. We ended up splitting the next few months between writing new material and auditioning prospective band members, and finally zeroed in on Shishir Gupta and Ashwin Ethiraj, on bass and keys respectively. It has been a stable line-up ever since, and besides music, we play a lot of foosball together off late.
Eight Octaves: Bangalore has always been known for its music scene. In what way has it helped you guys in promoting your music?
Praveen: For any performing band, we feel Bangalore offers more opportunities, a wider network of musicians, and a slightly bigger audience compared to other Indian cities. We have benefitted from the local scene mostly by playing a lot of gigs and winning competitions. We’re also looking to utilize other avenues of promotion to the fullest with our EP around the corner.
Eight Octaves: What is the general composing procedure you guys follow?
Praveen: Vats has been the main song writer with me focussing more on the structure/arrangement. We are heavily driven by guitar/vocal melodies, and the rest of us write our parts around that. Since we’re also aiming for something truly original, we do spend a lot of time strolling across musical boundaries.
Eight Octaves: Is there any Indian artist you look up to as an idol or a great influence?
Praveen: Yes. Maestro Ilayaraja, Prasanna and Shakti.
Eight Octaves: Have you guys played a lot outside of Bangalore? If yes, do you feel that you’re affected by the difference in the support or comfort level that you generally find when playing at home?
Praveen: Other than Bangalore, we have played in Hyderabad, Chennai, Surathkal and Pondicherry but, so far there hasn’t been any noticeable difference in the support or comfort level. Even if there is, our usual approach is to try and give our best to the audience, than getting affected by factors such as these.
Eight Octaves: Finally, where is Rainburn headed to in the next coming months? Can we expect an album or EP from you guys soon?
Praveen: Yes. Like I mentioned earlier, we are writing a 5 song EP with a targeted release around September this year. We have also started playing a couple of the new songs live, and the response has been very fulfilling. This EP revolves around a new musical direction conceived by us, and lot of efforts are being driven towards achieving a unique and defined sound.
On the non musical front, we have Rishabh Ambasta, founder of Ancient Mosquito on board as the band manager, and things look quite promising. We will continue to play gigs as we write the EP but, be a little selective for a couple of months or so.
www.facebook.com/rainburnofficial
www.youtube.com/rainburnofficialwww.reverbnation.com/rainburn
