BENGALURU: When a techie decided to team up with two friends and try something new in rock music under the band Antariksh, no one really thought it will create a big buzz. Rated by MTV as one of the best Hindi rock artistes from India, Delhi-based Antariksh is known for bringing Western rock songs to mainstream Hindi music.
“When we started our music journey in 2012, rock music scene in the country was primarily English songs. We thought about bringing Western and rock songs to Hindi music. At that point, not many people were doing this. We are happy we could create an impact in Indian music,” Varun Rajput, a founding member of the band, says, ahead of their performance in the city.
What started as an experiment turned out an inspiration for many upcoming musicians in the country. “It’s interesting to identify how audiences react to different genres and how their perceptions change. The musician in you evolves with them. Today, we also add electronic music. But one constant has been our urge to create high-quality music. Bands often try to adapt and dilute themselves. We never dilute our music,” says Rajput. The band includes Shrikant Biswakarma on the guitar, Joshua Peter on the vocals and keyboard, and Dan Thomas on the drums.
Their first album, Khoj, had progressive rock influences with a mix of Carnatic music. The band is now busy with releasing the single Jeele Sara this month, and fans in Bengaluru can listen to this at the upcoming event. “Jeele Sara talks about the baggage put by the society on our shoulders. It is dedicated to real-life heroes, change-makers, influencers and entrepreneurs, who got rid of that and followed their passion. We will release two more singles soon. Finally, we will put all this together and launch our album,” Rajput adds.
This is fourth time Antariksh will perform in the city. “Our last public performance was in 2016. Bengaluru is considered the country’s rock capital. We will play some songs from Khoj, four songs from the upcoming album, and Bollywood remixes of songs of Shankar Mahadevan and AR Rahman. Bengalureans really like Rahman,” says Rajput, talking about their discussions with some playback singers for collaboration on the album. “We are also presenting our music to many composers. I have heard a lot about the South Indian music industry. Though I’m not exposed to it, I will be eager to work in the industry.”
The band will perform on Sept 7 at Forum Shantiniketan Mall, Whitefield.