Hailing from the peaceful hills of Kannur, The Down Troddence are a Thrash/Groove/Folk Metal outfit currently based in Bangalore. They have taken the scene by storm and are going to release an album in the first quarter of 2013. We caught up with the band between their two back to back shows for a quick chit chat.
Eight Octaves: Firstly tell us about the starting days, how did TDT come into shape?
TDT: The first days of TDT was started by Munz and Varun with a studio project named ULTIMATUM. That is when the song Death Vanity came into shape and became a popular single bringing us to the forefront. By 2010 the complete lineup came in picture to become a proper outfit from a normal studio project including Sushin on Keys, Nezer on Bass, Ganesh on Drums and last but not the least Advaith taking up the Rhythm duties.
Eight Octaves: Tell us the reason behind the band name
TDT: The name says it all. We as a band speak from the vision of the oppressed. Our songs portray different dilemmas from different situations of a down trodden.
Eight Octaves: Your biggest influences as a band and individually?
TDT:
Nezer: Tool, Pink Floyd, Folk Music
Ganesh: Porcupine Tree, Opeth
Varun: Megadeth, Deep Purple, Prasanna
Sushin: Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, Opeth
Munz: Slayer, Joint Family, Queen
Advaith : Jimmi Hendrix
Eight Octaves: You basically cover three sub-genres of metal while performing live – Thrash, Groove and Folk. Folk being usually your cover of Eluveitie’s song Inis Mona. But as a band, what sub-genre do you guys prefer and why?
TDT: We Play Metal!
Eight Octaves: Haha!! Well said. Your rise to fame was Death Vanity. I remember listening to the song about two years ago, but in these two years, you weren’t in the spotlight as such, you may have just lost the momentum. What happened exactly?
TDT: During the time Death Vanity was launched, as mentioned earlier we were just a studio project. We never even dreamt of being a band during our earlier stages. It took a lot of time and effort to get the right musicians to completely root into one single thought called The Down Troddence. Probably that is why.
Eight Octaves: Now coming to the new album, what can we expect from it? What will be the sound like?
TDT: The album is set to launch earlier this year and is under production process with Mr. Keshav Dhar from Skyharbor. The album is worth every effort of our work. Consisting of 9 songs and breathing our roots in every single song in the album, we assure that our blood, sweat and tears will get translated into a very good and unique sounding album.
Eight Octaves: Your views on the current Old School-New School rivalry?
TDT: Our sound is derived from Old School as well New School. Both sides have their own importance in our music. We view music holistically and ultimately music is important for us.
Eight Octaves: We all know about the current problem with venue for local gigs in Bangalore. Venues selected are usually far away and sometimes fans have to shell out more money than the gig entry fee, just to reach the venue and get back home. How much are the bands being affected due to this?
TDT: Venues in Bangalore are quite far away and with the amount of traffic in the city it is quite a bad effect on the bands. The venues in and around should be open to promote bands like us, rather not mentioning us as an underground stream of music. We hope everyone understands what exactly is being mentioned here. True to say we will definitely do something to reduce the effort for our friends out there to come and see us live. Look forward for it.
Eight Octaves: Well you’re ending 2012 and starting 2013 on a good note, two back to back shows. Any other shows in the starting half of the year confirmed till now? Maybe in some other city?
TDT: We are definitely getting offers, but all on a tentative basis. We are definitely looking forward to play in different cities in this coming year. The year 2013 sounds quite promising and with a good start .We think it definitely is something to look forward to.
Eight Octaves: Lastly, 2012 has been a great year for you all, Sushin was judged the best keyboardist in Saarang, you opened for UK based band Cypher 16 and then to top it all you scooped up two awards from Indigo South Asian Music Awards for best vocalist and music video (Shiva). What are your plans for 2013?
TDT: Thanks a lot. Definitely 2013 is a year to look forward for us. After the release of Death Vanity and our Official Video Shiva, this year is a milestone for us as we are releasing our Debut Album. We are trying our hard to hit maximum stages as possible this year. Days are getting longer and nights are getting shorter for us… Tonnes of surprises on the way!
