KOCHI: “We didn’t plan a reunion. It just happened,” is what ‘Wrenz United’ feels about their band, which has now reformed after a sabbatical. Back in 1996 when the band split up, the group members were much younger, and there were many more, who came and went. Now there are only four - Roney R Philip on the vocals, Baiju Dharmajan on the lead guitar, Biju James on the bass guitar and Nirmal Antony on the drums. Wrenz United has brought out an EP consisting of three tracks which is available for free streaming on their site - www.wrenzunited.com.
They prefer to call our songs International Indian Rock. Says Baiju, “there is no such term, we created it to describe our songs best. The music is something which came naturally from us. I have grown up listening to Tamil and Malayalam songs and so the influence will definitely be there. We don’t want to fake anything.” ‘By the moonlight,’ the main song of the EP, revolves around the tragic theme of the Highway Man but has a happy ending and is by no means mushy. ‘By the Moonlight’ is also how they have named their five-city tour, which they will embark on in February.
The second song - ‘God’s Own Country’ speaks about the beauty of Kerala, from the point of view of someone who has left the place and is full of nostalgia.
The music of the earlier Wrenz veered towards classic rock, as that was the age of rock in India. Wrenz used to perform at music festivals and concerts in cities all over the country, during 1989-1996.
All have evolved as musicians and as individuals now, they say. “During that period, we didn’t think much, we just wanted to have a good time. But we didn’t have the kind of freedom we enjoy today either. After a point, family wanted us to put an end to all the ‘music business’ and go for proper jobs. All of us went different ways.” While Roney entered the tourism industry, Baiju was the lead guitarist for MotherJane till recently. Nirmal freelanced as drummer and Biju as bassist for various bands and shows. “At this point, we have nothing to prove and nobody to answer to. We still dream wild but music is a profession now and we are much more serious and disciplined as musicians.” The band has been formed on the base of friendship more than anything else, they say. “We believe that it’s the only way there will be good music. This is a field where you cannot survive on purely professional relationships.”
According to them, Kochi still doesn’t have a strong fan base for this kind of music, which is why they have planned their official launch in Bangalore at the end of this month.
The moonlight tour will cover Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Later this year, they will be bringing out a proper album. “The album is just an invitation card, we call it just a beginning,” Wrenz
signs off.
ashaprakash@expressbuzz.com