BANGALORE: They believe Indian languages are the future.
Of rock. Yes, you read that write. And if you are Avial, you could proudly proclaim the same too.
It is their sounds that makes Malayalam resound with the quality of raw, pulsating beauty that can be found in all Indian languages.
Tony John (vocals, turntables and synth) believes that it is the language that takes you places. “When you go out to perform, what do you have to call your own except the language? And that is what we are taking with us,” he says.
Anyone who has heard Avial’s songs will tell you that these are not words strung together, these are poems. “Only one of our songs is a poem written by Kavalan Madhavan Panikkar, for which we have taken permission. The other songs are poems written by experts in folk Malayalam,” Tony says. And yes, Avial swears by folk. “Folk was something we discovered, learnt and practised. And we intend to stick to folk for good,” Tony says. In fact, Avial is on a mission to revive folk.
When Expresso managed to touch base with Avial, (after several interruptions in their rehearsal sessions), we finally mangaged to catch the band when it was on its way to Bangalore.
They will be in the city for Friday and Saturday, doing what they do best. Performing.
Avial’s previous experiences in Bangalore have been great as they feel the city has earned its name as the rock capital.
For Avial it is important that their songs are socially relevant. “We try to tell the tale of social issues with our s o n g s , ” Tony says.
They are currently working on their second album and have done a song for a Hindi film.
They also collaborated with an Italian band called A-67.
The life of this band made up of Tony John (Vocals, Turntables and Synth), Rex Vijayan( Guitars and Synth), Naresh Kamath (Bass) and Mithun Puthanveetil (Drums) is all about music, Tony tells us.
“Avial is nothing but music,” he says emphatically.
Avial will be performing at Le Rock Pub Cafe on Saturday evening.