Indian Ocean, a rock band that is credited with starting the fusion rock movement in our nation, and The Pioneer connect with the band members as we discuss fusion music, having gotten their hands on different genres, and more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
We had an exclusive interview with Indian Ocean, a rock band that was founded in 1990 and is largely credited with starting the fusion rock movement in our nation. Before Asheem Chakravarty passed away on December 25, 2009, the band’s members included Susmit Sen, Rahul Ram, Amit Kilam, and Himanshu Joshi. Tuheen Chakravarty and Joshi were formally admitted into the band as Chakravarty’s heirs. Rahul Ram is the only original member who was featured on the band’s debut album, Indian Ocean, since Susmit Sen left in 2013!
Fusion has advanced significantly, as the band members asserted in a recent interview with The Pioneer. “People are singing and performing linguistic fusion with confidence these days. Agam is a fantastic band that performs fusion Carnatic music. Bollywood is now incorporating fusion rock into some of its films, which is a big thing. We have performed fusion rock in a few movies.” Jazz fusion is the most appropriate genre to describe the band’s sound.
But, we were told, “We really don’t set out to do some specific instruments. We get together and jam, and the various genres of music we grew up with have become a part of who we are. Additionally, as the band has developed over time, new members have added characteristics of their own. For instance, Himanshu is well-versed in ancient Punjabi and Uttrakhandi folklore, as well as Ghazal and Urdu poetry. Former heavy metal guitarist Nitin Rao is now interested in jazz and carnatic music. You will have to sit with us and experience the music for yourself to gain any further insight into how we truly came up with it.”
The band has been defying record labels’ policies since 2010. Their most recent album, 16/330 Khajoor Road, was made available for free online. This decision was mostly motivated by unhappiness with contract negotiations with record labels and legal disputes around copyright! The band members don’t seem to be phased, though, and go on, “We didn’t want to engage with music companies because of how terrible their contracts operate. We therefore made the decision to record the music ourselves and only grant them distribution rights following Black Friday. These businesses are no longer relevant; their primary role now is to distribute your music across several channels. However, other factions have taken control of even that. Since music firms have been exploiting musicians for so long, it’s about time they realise that’s not the way to make money, so it’s not a bad thing that they are slowly but surely becoming obsolete.”
Instead of playing to record labels, they are now making money through concerts and sponsorships. Johnnie Walker briefly provided sponsorship for them!
“After Asheem’s death and Susmit’s retirement, the current line is devoid of any members from the 1990s. In 1991, I became a member. However, Nikhil Rao has had a fantastic impact. He is humorous and full of life, but more significantly, he is interested in a wide range of genres, which has greatly increased the band’s diversity. In terms of both creativity and interpersonal dynamics, the band is in fantastic shape. The solos are incredible. Ultimately, Susmit’s leaving is beneficial for both him and the band,” said band member Rahul Ram.
As one of the five featured artists, they are also members of the world’s first music personalisation initiative, called DRP. “Every song, with the exception of the title tune, revolves around the environmental problem. Jadu Maya and Iss Tan Dhan’s music, for example, speaks to resisting materialism. A major element of revolution or protest music is there aside from that. Actually, Asheem contributed to a few of the tracks on 16/330. And the incomplete work we made with Asheem is the second CD of 16/330, which most people have never heard of. Asheem had left by the time it was released, but he was still very much a part of it. After Asheem and Susmit parted ways, the album Tandanu was released. We had moved on at that point, and a lot of time had passed. We speak lovingly and affectionately about Asheem and miss him every single day. We tell everyone about him, and we cherish our memories of him. We were fortunate to have spent nearly two decades with him.”
Sen’s father proposed the name Indian Ocean back in 1990. As the new drummer, Shaleen Sharma was joined by bassists Anirban Roy and Indrajit Dutta. Sen sold his electric guitar to help the band acquire the necessary funds, and together they recorded a demo. The seven tracks on the 45-minute recording were all recorded in a single day. The demo tape was recorded in a hurry, but its quality pleased HMV, and they were offered an album deal. It has been a major pleasure working with lyricist Sanjeev Sharma for the whole band. Could you give more details on the band’s collaborations with the lyricist? Well, one of the team members says, “It was at a music rehearsal for a play that we truly first got together. He told us, when we sat down with him, that lyrics are not poetry, and it’s true that he’s created so many lovely songs for us. Every chance we have, we attempt to collaborate with him. We begin with the music and then turn it over to the lyricist after providing a quick synopsis of the song. The song came together over a few conversations and idea sharing. The focus is on giving the lyrics significance, as evidenced by other Indian Ocean tunes.”
A song’s creation for Masaan, starring Vicky Kaushal, involved the input of multiple parties, including the director, producer, and lyricist he chose. In addition, there are time constraints, such as the length of songs for motion pictures, which place a strong emphasis on the words and less emphasis on the music, which is typically the focus of the Indian Ocean. But in spite of all of these difficulties and limitations, they managed to produce a respectable quantity of work that is really engaging!
