“If we had 11 fingers, our decimal system would start from there,” Nikhil Rao, Indian Ocean’s guitarist quips quite randomly, as we begin this interview. “Yes, but then we wouldn’t have a decimal system at all, no?” queries bassist Rahul Ram. Their manager has to step in and remind all in the room that this isn’t a video for a YouTube stand-up comedy group, but an interview with a newspaper. The cackling is cut short, but this gives us insight into the thought process of a band which changed the face of Indian music in the ‘90s.
In Puducherry for the NH7 Weekender Express music festival, Indian Ocean is still a staple whenever the word indie is mentioned, despite a few turbulent years. Tabla player and vocalist Asheem Chakravarty passed away in 2009, and guitarist Susmit Sen quit in 2013 to focus on his solo work.
“‘ Soch mat’ humaara school of thought hai ,” (‘Don’t think’ is our school of thought) Ram says, towards the beginning of their documentary film Leaving Home – the Life & Music of Indian Ocean . And this still rings true, even though 60% of the band is composed of new members, as Ram himself puts it. “Clearly this philosophy still exists,” he says. “We’re busy discussing numerical and digit systems. We don’t think about the music we’re making in terms of the audience, we just focus on the songs.” He attributes the band’s success to their sound, longevity and luck.
“The band has adapted to these changes because we wanted to carry on with the band when we got the new members in,” Amit Kilam says. “It’s like starting all over again, getting to know them and their style. But now, things are settling down.” He points out that it’s a constant case of work-in-progress, even after all these years. “But the new guys are nice. The boys played well!” he says, a slant reference to the now famous Inzamam-ul-Haq phrase. But did the thought of disbanding, or forming a new group ever cross their minds? “When Asheem died, there were questions at the back of our minds, but we never thought of shutting the band down,” Kilam says. “We knew Susmit was planning to leave almost a year before he actually did,” Ram adds.
The ethos of the band has improved over the years, he says. “ Tandanu (their last studio album, launched in 2014) was a very nice turning point.” The album was their first fresh cut with all the new members. Every song on the album features a collaboration with a prominent musician, around whom the song is centred, including Vishal Dadlani, Shubha Mudgal, Karsh Kale, Shankar Mahadevan, and others.
“But how does Indian Ocean sound without these collaborations? Soch mat !” Ram quips. While the band had initially thought their new album, due for release next year, would feature no collaborations, two people asked to work with them, and they were impossible to turn down — saxophonist George Brooks, and Grammy-award winning percussionist Pandit Vikku Vinayakram, whose son V Selvaganesh had featured on Tandanu as well. “How can you turn down names of this stature?” Ram says.
The band adds that each new member has brought a new facet to the group. “Nikhil experiments with Carnatic music. He’s also a fan of metal, so we now have distortion in our guitar sounds. [Vocalist Himanshu] Joshi ji has a very different sound from Asheem’s, and Tuheen [Chakravarty] is not just a tabla player, but a percussionist as well.”
They’re pleased with the way things are moving and aren’t forcing themselves in a particular direction. “If you decide there is only one thing you want to do, in only one manner with blinkers on, nothing will happen,” Joshi says.
The music scene is very different from when Indian Ocean forayed into the studios — with the advent of streaming, YouTube, piracy, and the likes. Recording culture is finished, they proclaim. “The idea of trying to make money by recording an album is dead,” Rao says. “We record albums because that’s just what bands do. But we have to put our own money together and make them ourselves,” he adds.
“This was not the case before. Earlier, the recording label would take care of your expenses, and if the album worked, the artiste would make some money. Nowadays, nobody buys albums so nobody makes money,” intervenes Kilam. “Digital is good for consumers. It’s horrendous for musicians,” Ram says.
As we wind through our questions, the windows begin to rattle and an audible bass-drop makes its way to our ears. An interested Rahul Ram peeks out the window. The performances have begun and the interview must be cut short. But before we leave, what can we expect from the band’s new album? “Sex! Suspense! Thrill!” Rao says. Is Anurag Kashyap producing the new record, I ask? The band breaks into a fit of laughter. “We don’t have a name for the album yet. That comes at the end,” he says. “Soch Mat, maybe?” Joshi asks? “Yeah, why not,” everyone agrees in a not-quite joking manner. If that’s what it’s called, you heard it here first.
