The Times of India,
Music that's Ocean deep
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Meet Indian Ocean, the band that revels in its rarity and the pristine quality of
its compositions.
They are just like any other band but for their music, that promises to be hat ke. Indian Ocean, a four-member band (Asheem, Sushmit, Rahul and Amit), is known for its different sound and music, with a very Indian feel.
The band, which had 70 concerts to its name, at home and abroad, in the year 2005 alone, also composed music for Anurag Kashyap's controversial film Black Friday. LT catches up with the band, back home after wrapping up its US tour, to perform in the city recently.
Unlike other bands who play western music and songs, Indian Ocean plays its original tracks with western instruments but Hindi lyrics.
So what's their music called? "That's something even we haven't been able to make out!"laughs Asheem, vocalist and founder member of the band adding, "It's our music - another form of music among so many. You need to brand your music only to market it. We don't require to coin any name for it."
Creating a new sound without a name - must have been one hell of a struggle, eh? "No,"he replies adding, "We never struggled, even though there were obstacles in the way. In a society like ours where every unconventional thing is forbidden, it was difficult.
Still the reflection of enjoyment that we got from our audience made us carry on."And now - more than a decade later-- it hasn't just managed to survive, but is also more popular than it used to be.
However, they say it's not yet time to relax. "More the recognition, greater the responsibility to compose good stuff,"reasons Rahul, base guitarist. "There are so many people who still haven't heard us,"adds Asheem.
But when it comes to filmi music, by their own admission, they aren't approached by too many filmmakers. Moreover, they themselves are apprehensive of interference before taking on film assignments. "But thankfully no body interfered while we were working on Black Friday.
A free hand is the most important thing for us, and that's what makes it difficult for others to work with us,"confesses Asheem. However the film remains unreleased till date thanks to its controversial subject - the Mumbai bomb blasts. Has that affected them in any way? "No. The subject doesn't really matter. Our satisfaction lies in composing the music,"he explains.
They do accept to being influenced by others but certainly not inspired. "All folk forms are interesting. Be it Rajsthani, North Eastern, Kashmiri, Bhojpuri or Bangla,"says Sushmit, guitarist and founder of the band. And what about unusual lyrics like Bharam Bhap Ke or Bandeh..?
"There are no limits from where you can source good lyrics. Right from folk lore to Kabir to even Sanskrit shlokas that we have used. Music is very abstract,"explains Asheem.
And the band that boasts of making original music, brushes off any talk of competition from others. "No body does our kind of music and nobody is even close to us,"clarifies Sushmit.
So, what next? "We need to spend more time in the studio. In the past three years, we have composed only two and a half songs, apart from the background score we did for Black Friday. We need to create more music,"says Rahul. 04/30/06
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