“Every time we come together, we know something amazing is going to come out of it,” shares Mohammad Waris Ansari (21), a member of J Block, a Delhi-based music collective.
Driven by a sense of brotherhood, the collective—members along with Ansari are Aatmbodh (26), Siddhant (31), Siddharth (26), Faizan Rahman (22), Abhishek Vishwakarma (22)—formed in early 2021, and has released about 12 tracks centered on themes including politics, LGBTQIA+, police brutality. In this week’s Soundscape, members of J Block discuss the story of their inception and the challenges they face as an independent artist collective.
How was J Block formed?
The inception of J Block was right after the first lockdown. Aatmbodh and I had spent the lockdown in the same house. After the first lockdown, we parted ways but the second lockdown brought us together again. We moved in. In a way, we relied on each other for work, emotional support, and started discussing ideas. When we moved in, we decided we won’t just be flatmates, but we’ll build something, a co-working space where we can call friends over and work together. This is how everyone else joined. It all happened at this place which was located in J Block [Sarita Vihar], hence the name. As more people joined, J Block took shape.
The hook of your latest track ‘Maanavta’ is ‘Daanav bani ye Maanavta’. Does this song draw inspiration from a recent incident?
We met and started music around the time period when it was a tumultuous [time] in Delhi. We made a lot of tracks. Maanavta was also made in 2021. It is an old track; we released it now. All our songs have something relevant to that time, it’ll show. It is not a topical song but yes, when we wrote it, we tried talking about police violence. This has been constant across all regimes that people have chosen in India.
‘Kalla Killah’ is an evocative account of exploring one’s identity and the queer experience. What was the process of working on it like?
I went to J Block, met Faizan, and he shared the beat. I fell in love with it. I went back, wrote the song in very simplistic language... basically wrote down what I was feeling. The song was made in two days. The song discusses my journey of coming from a small town to a big city, the sense of displacement, longing for home, the struggle with my identity, and the time it took me to accept my queerness.
And how did the video come about...
The video has been inspired by my personal experience. A year and a half ago, I was chased by my own family who told me I couldn't come back home. I had a breakdown and I started running. I ran from A Block and L Block.
I discussed this incident with Gaurav [the director], how we should picturise it, and he said we should keep it raw, real, and just like how it happened. Therefore, in the video, we decided to just run. We made a few changes during the editing. We kept the video because it explained the emotions really well.
What are the challenges of working as an independent music collective?
At times, the challenges outweigh the benefits (laughs). A few members have day jobs. There is an investment that comes in from the members, everyone puts in their share. I like to call it a co-op. If three or four of us get a project, we complete it and we put some share in the crew’s kitty.
There is this emotional attachment that drives everything. Sometimes I haven't been able to afford a few things but I know other members are there and they will make sure that the person who needs it will get it. He won’t have to ask for it.