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AUGUST 2010 OUT NOW!
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ASK . . .
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MUSIC
INDIAN OCEAN, an indo-fusion-rock-jazz outfit that has been together in its current line-up since 1992, has built up an enormous following in India and abroad. An interesting mix of acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums along with table, their music blends the improvisational depths of Indian classical music and cathartic intensity of rock. Though they have less than 30 songs (from their albums Indian Ocean, Desert Rain, Kandisa, Jhini) recorded to date, more than half of these are bonafide classics.
Now, through the eyes of director Jaideep Varma we get to know the humble beginnings of Indian Ocean through the bio-pic documentary Leaving Home. The lives of band members Rahul Ram (bass guitar, vocals), Sushmit Sen (guitar, vocals), Amit Kilam (drums, other percussions) and the late Asheem Chakraborty (tabla, vocals and other percussion), is interspersed with interviews with their families, concert footage, rehearsals and people they have worked with. VERUS FERREIRA met the band to find out about the bio-pic and their new album.
Tell us something about the documentary.
Rahul: The 115 minute documentary illustrates a band who took risks and survived. The film is entirely Jaideep's idea; it was never our idea to make a biopic on our lives.Amit: This is not a film commissioned by us, or even edited by us. For that matter it is not even paid by us. Jaideep came to us and said I want to make a film on you guys. He used footage from our DVD 'Live in Delhi', and also shot live sessions at our Karol Bagh bungalow.
Why the name Leaving Home?
Amit: The title for the movie is also one of our songs from an earlier album, Jaideep asked if he could use it and we agreed. Also it will help to recall our music too.RAHUL
Will the movie appeal to Indian audiences?
Rahul: There is always a first time and change from the normal is always welcome. I do hope that youngsters who like our music or anyone who loves good music would watch this movie. We have made a start and I am sure there will be other bands that will one day follow what we have done. Abroad this is a common way of making music films. Flight 666 on Iron Maiden and This Is It on Michael Jackson have done well here.SUSMIT
You started off as an instrumental outfit and slowly progressed into including vocals in your music.
Rahul: Initially it was just Susmit and Asheem playing together, Asheem used to play rhythm, I joined the band and I asked him why you don't sing, because I thought he had a nice voice. I also told him that I love to sing, so why don't we sing together instead of just making instrumental music. Asheem and Susmit had a few tracks laid down and they structured it later and that's how we put vocals to it.What has kept the band together for so long?
Rahul: We like the music we do. We also had a late start which gives you a little maturity to deal with egoship. Normally people start playing together as teenagers, and they let ego get in the way of music. It's not that we don't have egos, but we were a bit more mature to know when to draw the line.
Susmit: We strike an emotional chord between all of us. Obviously it due to the music, but I feel that we manage to sound very Indian and pretty global at the same time is what keeps such a band together.
AMIT
Fans have been waiting for a new album. Why was it not released for so long?
Rahul: We're lazy! (Laughs out loud) This delay for an album happened more due to the fact that we had a few Bollywood offers and any thought of making an album was put off. But we are releasing a new album in July this year. We are not the type to say "let's make an album of songs" and have one hit song and the rest all fillers. Every song we make we really make. We are releasing the new songs on the internet for free; they can be download from our website www.indianoceanmusic.com
Tell us about the new tracks.
Rahul: The songs have been sung, played and performed by Asheem who passed away in December last year. We will not be releasing it as a physical sale, because I believe that record labels basically expect everything, and they do nothing. I don't think record labels have any notion about nurturing artists or even sustaining artists.ASHEEM
Any replacement for Asheem or will Indian Ocean be a three-member band from now on?
Susmit: I don't think anyone can replace Asheem. He and I had formed the band way back in the early 90s and our bond was very close. (Pauses with his head down) He was an exceptionally talented musician and vocalist. We all very dearly miss him. Vocalist Himanshu Joshi and Gyan Singh on tabla will play with us for sometime and accompany us on our US tour.
The Life and Music of Indian Ocean
Consisting of footage shot between 2007 and 2008, the documentary follows each of the four musicians from their beginnings in the band to the present day.
The film is set in a 100 year old bungalow in Delhi's Karol Bagh, where the band resided for many years. It is also their mini studio for most of the film's live sound recordings. Live footage includes full-length versions of mega hits Kandhisa, Village Damsel, Kaun, Badeh (from Black Friday), Jhini and Maa Rewa (written by Rahul for the Narmada Bachao Andolan). The four pitch in on the vocals with practiced ease and move in and out with their instruments creating a free flow of vocals. Director Jaideep Verma delves deep into how the band made some of these mega hits.
Other footage includes collaborations with Shubha Mudgal, Rabbi Shergill and Kailash Kher, and sound bytes from filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and Palash Sen among others.
The film released on April 2, 2010 to rave reviews, more than three months after the unfortunate death of the legendary tabla-vocalist Asheem Chakravarty, to whom the film is dedicated.
Verus Ferreira is a freelance journalist since the last 18 years. Passionate about music, he started writing for THE TEENAGER soon after finishing college. He also contributes to The Free Press Journal, The Afternoon, AV Max, Ragatorock.com and selects the in-flight audio entertainment for two international airlines. |
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