CHENNAI: One cannot ignore the melange of music scenes sprouting in the city — from Tamil pop with the grunge of the guitar to the Hindi-English fusion, there is no dearth of talented musicians and the genre of music they offer. Take Between Recess for instance…who recently performed to a packed crowd during Diwali at Phoenix MarketCity. On a mission to introduce regional-blended rock music to the city, along with renditions of Green Day and Dire Straits’ songs, here’s a band that has so much to look forward to within just two years of making their debut.
Essentially a three-piece band — vocalist, guitar, drums — Between Recess was started by Irfan Hyder who used music as an outlet for his creativity.
Having passed out of SRM Institute of Hotel Management in 2014, Irfan was known in the circuit for his singing, thanks to the innumerable cultural shows he performed at. After being asked to perform at a corporate event, Irfan set out to look for his other band members. That’s when Between Recess happened.
“Karthik Ramesh and Allan Richards were perfect!” says Irfan, referring to his drummer and guitarist. The rest, as they say, is history! Comprising of only these three youngsters, occasionally there are other older musicians who perform at big events.
Seeking inspiration from artists like Farhan Akhtar and Bollywood musicals like Rockstar (2011) and Rock On!! (2008) the band is opting for the commercial route.
“We’ve been trying to go commercial because people love that. We didn’t exactly follow Chennai-based bands and sometimes, your music tends to get restricted. But what’s always well-received are those commercial hits! I noticed that when we started performing Farhan Akhtar’s songs, and some of our originals in Hindi. The crowd loved it!” grins the vocalist. Believing that there are few regional bands that make it big, Between Recess aims to put Hindi rock music in the map.
With all three members seriously pursuing music now, they have an album coming up towards the end of December. “I am also learning classical and Hindustani, and will be taking to playback singing soon. I didn’t think it would happen but everything seems to be panning out well,” says Irfan.
They have a few performances lined up, a few in Bengaluru and some in the city.
To keep track of their gigs, follow them on FB – Between Recess