HYDERABAD :
How do you feel about performing at the X-Festival?
I’m so glad that something like this is happening. We played for IMPX, Independent Music Platform, last year in October. That show far exceeded our expectations. Right from how we were received at the airport, we could tell that these guys were really into the band and they were fans first, before anything. The crowd was 3x of what we expected and the reaction was 10x. We are excited about going back and being amongst our old friends, like Agnee. The good thing is that the focus is on independent music because Bollywood, Tollywood or Kollywood have a lot of reach. They have multiple legs and people spread the word. But independent music is more experimental. It needs a cheerleader. I’m very happy that the IMP is doing that in Hyderabad.
The band itself has existed for over three decades. You joined the band in 2012. How do you view this long journey?
This is my 12th year in the band. The band is in its 36th year. I would argue that this is probably India’s longest-running band. Other bands have either disintegrated or pursued other things but Indian Ocean has just done Indian Ocean. They were doing original music at a time when being yourself was not considered cool. Anybody who played rock western music or urban entertainment was considered to be a poor imitation of Western bands. Some people were trying to sound like Deep Purple and Guns N’ Roses and Led Zeppelin. Of course, classical, folk and even jazz had separate verticals. The Indian Ocean was one of those bands that said, these rules make no sense to us. I can be the same guy who can enjoy Vasantrao Deshpande and Deep Purple. Why can my music not reflect that? Of course, they went through a lot of struggle — being broke for years and being rejected hundreds of times. But inherently, the character of the senior band members became very strong over time. With every rejection, they were like, we believe in our music and we will keep doing this. It was one of those purest examples of bending the will of the universe to follow your path.
What changes do you observe in the evolution of music since then?
The change from then is that now, everybody wants to do their original music. Being a cover band is kind of looked down upon. “Oh man, look at this guy. He’s stuck in the past and why is he doing a cover of Sweet Child O Mine?” I mean, I don’t want to be judgemental about that. If somebody wants to do that, let them go ahead and have a good time. But I feel a lot of people across the country have found their voice and are even using newer mediums. For example, hip-hop has become a huge deal in the last decade in India. Now there are so many people, writing rap in Telugu and Tamil. I think it’s a healthy positive change.
Is it less challenging now to enter the independent music scene?
In terms of challenges, it is as difficult as it used to be. Some things are very easy. Earlier, access used to be a huge thing. You had to find a record company executive who believed in you. You had to find the studio. Now, all of that is just out of the window. People can make an album from their bedroom. Whether somebody will like it or listen to it is secondary, but at least there is no ‘rok-tok’ on you doing the work. I would say that there is more freedom, but there are also a lot of challenges. Overall, I’m happy with where the independent music scene in India is going. I think that the good and the positive far outweigh the negative. That’s my take on it.
How does something like the IMP App help artistes in the Independent music industry?
To be perfectly honest, the independent music scene is still quite tight-knit and not huge in India. Even though the country is astoundingly big and complex, if you are in the independent music scene long enough, you will know who the key players are from everywhere. One app to unite people and do some information sharing generally, I think is not a bad idea. Speaking for myself and my senior band members who are well in their 60s right now – we are tech dinosaurs, we don’t need to use an app for anything but maybe for somebody who’s starting, it might help because most of the life they live is online.
Do you think keeping yourself up to date with trends is important for indie artistes?
We do not obsess over catching trends. We usually lag trends in the sense that we don’t try to chase. If we are to be influenced by a trend, it has to happen in its own way, in its own time. No boss is sitting on top of our heads and saying that this is the deadline and you have to churn out so much music this year, otherwise, you are a failure. Whether it is streaming or algorithm, whether it was the earlier thing of albums, records and CDs, that has never worked with Indian Ocean. We work on our own pace and I think our fans also respect and appreciate us for that.
How does the diversity of the group help your music?
The average age of the band is quite high, around 50. We have two members who are 40 years old. One member is 50 and two members are 60 years old. We all come from different parts of India. Even within the group, there is a lot of diversity in who we are as people, as musicians, as music lovers. We all bring our influences to it. I like to think that it is a liberal and open-minded set up so that everybody feels comfortable expressing their ideas.