The little town of Kannur, Kerala might not have been known for heavy metal, that is, until a group of metal lovers got together and decided to put Kannur on the map. And they sure succeeded, having won eight of the 13 top awards at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards last year, The Down Troddence has brought life to the metal scene in India.
For those of you who wonder why they named themselves thus, listen to their debut album, ‘How are you, I’m fine, thank you’ released on New Year’s Eve in 2014 and pretty much topped all the metal charts that year. Their songs are beautifully told stories, stories of the downtrodden society and their miseries. Deep and dark, untold suffering put to the tune of dark metal – there couldn’t be a better way to express pain.
Meet 23-year-old Sushin Shyam, the keyboardist of the band, who joined Sri Sidhartha Institute of Technology, Tumkur, but soon quit because he realised ‘it would be a huge betrayal to the companies if he worked for them.’
Talk about integrity. Six years back though, he found his true calling, when his childhood friend Varun, one of the founders of The Down Troddence called him to help record some vocals. “I knew Varun the lead guitarist, we used to compete with each other for youth festivals. They called me to help record some vocals. Then one thing lead to another and I was asked to join the band,” says Sushin.
Although he did have to work his own way into the field, he had the support most aspiring musicians could only hope for, with his father and grandfather, being musicians themselves. “He scolded me not because I didn’t do well in exams but because I would get lazy and not practice playing the keyboard enough,” says Sushin. Who wouldn’t love being scolded for something like that?
Sushin dropped out of college, took a break for six months to decide what to do next. “I got in touch with Deepak, worked with him as a keyboard programmer as it was the only thing I was sure I would be happy doing. I worked there for three years, struggled quite a bit at first. Infact I had to stay in one room in the cheapest part of Saaligramam with three other roommates. I later started freelancing. Rex Vijayan called me to do the background score for Sapthamasree thaskaraha. That’s how I became independent. Everything is going well now. I’m getting noticed for my work and doing a lot of programming for Tamil and Telugu films side by side,” says Suhin who has done programming for around 35 films in 5 years now.
Recalling a funny incident in college, he says, “I am a keyboardist but I became popular in college as a drummer. I couldn’t balance both academics and music, so I chose what I was good at, music.”
When asked what his best achievement is so far, he says, “Becoming an independent musician, being able to express my kind of music. I have been working on my own album in which I was able to express myself freely, which is a great relief. One of my happiest moments were when I took my father to see my first independent work, sapthamashree thaskaraha. I saw tears in his eyes when my name came up on the screen. He had refused an offer to become my music director in a film many years back due to various reasons. I think he felt a sense of achievement that day,” adds Sushin.
Sushin, who has been exploring folk music of late, says “My advice is to keep dreaming and work hard. I used to dream about being in this field as a kid. I remember reading about sound and music since I was 13. Look where it got me. I am living my dream, well almost, because dreams keep getting bigger.”
