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By Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.
Sep. 3--DURHAM -- The band Indian Ocean describes itself as "The sound of contemporary India getting to know itself." That's not just a catchy phrase -- there's history behind it.
"One hundred and fifty years of British rule takes a while to go away," said Rahul Ram, bass player for the Indian rock fusion band. "They told us they were better than us and we started to believe it. It takes a while to throw off that yoke."
Six decades, in fact, since India gained its independence.
"Growing up, educated Indians listened to young people all from the West. That's changed. Now they're listening to music composed in India," Ram said. "It comes from a sense that we are confident in ourselves and our country."
Their country certainly has confidence in Indian Ocean. While the band struggled in its early years, as the 1990s progressed, its following grew. In the past few years, Indian Ocean's music has been heard on Bollywood soundtracks, and the group is now working on several songs for two new movies. Outside India, they've become a force on the world music scene. And Saturday they will be in Durham for a concert at Duke University.
Ram and drummer Amit Kilam spoke to The Herald-Sun on Tuesday from a U.S. tour stop in Austin, Texas. Kilam, who also plays gabgubi and recorder, joined the band in 1994, and its lineup has remained the same. Susmit Sem is on guitar and vocals, and Asheem Chakravarty plays the tabla, tarang, other percussion and sings.
Kilam said that after playing together for 15 years, they've gotten to know each other enough that many things are instinctive. Most songs are made in a jamming format, he said, and can be laborious if the jam isn't going the right way.
"We know what's not working. You get a vibe from the other guys," he said. All the men are married, and three have children. They live in Delhi.
When the band began to tour outside India, its members found a language barrier with audiences in places like Russia and Japan. But music is a language without lyrics, Kilam said, and that's what people really connect to.
"The music will speak for itself," he said.
Many of Indian Ocean's fans are young, and the band often performs on college campuses. Social media and cable have allowed the band to branch out in ways the three members couldn't when they started, when India television had one government channel. Plus, people are generally resistant to new music, Ram said.
Bollywood dominates the music scene in India, he said. "If you have a song that's a Bollywood success, a lot more people will listen to you. It's a little sad, because we've been making good music for years."
So Indian Ocean will treat its fans to its Bollywood soundtrack songs as well as their larger catalog. And the group has nine more Bollywood songs on the way for two new films.
The music itself is the driving force behind the band. "We've been playing together an awfully long time," Ram said. "We like what we're doing. We all have egos. We fight. It's good -- if everybody agrees, it's boring. The music keeps us going."
09/04/09
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