Hyderabad, regardless of the limited indie-music loving audience, is waking up to new bands that are trying out new forms of music each day. Though the city isn't really a music hub, young musicians are doing their best to innovate their repertoire. Yet, the indie music scene is not really happening here. Why? Are there enough venues for bands to perform in the city? Do contract-based bands have an advantage over the others? Is it about the crowds or the inability of the organisers to spot the right places? We seek answers to identify exactly what ails Hyderabad.
Jacinth Paul, a lead guitarist at Witnesswide, a Hyderabad-based group that recently shifted its base to Chennai for several reasons points a finger at the taste of audiences here, for the lack of growth among bands. “In other parts of the country, if you see local stuff being played, there's a sudden sense of excitement in the crowd and you see the difference in their behaviour. Here, that response is missing.” he says. Independent musician-composer Kamran opines that response to music is more about the culture. Hyderabad, he mentions, swears mostly by film music unlike other cities that are open to various music forms.
“Lack of venues? That’s the case in all the other cities in the south, be it Chennai, Bangalore or other parts of Kerala,” says Jacinth Paul. In this city, Hard Rock, Hard Cup, Durgam Cheruvu, Olive Bistro and other venues do have an audience, but that's considerably niche. “The city is only gradually picking up in accepting this flavour of music.” Clearly the rise in number of venues is possible only when audience is guaranteed. Often., in such established venues, young bands that seek access to their responsive audience also have to battle it out with bands that are contracted with that venue.
Praveen, the lead guitarist of Agam that performed in the city twice in the last two months is witness to a slow progress. “I must admit that every time we come here, there's a reasonable growth in the audience numbers. It may not be a match to Bangalore or Mumbai, but the fact that we're being invited to music fests consistently and are seeing more fans each time, is an indicator of the progress of indie-music.”
Metal and rock bands in the city deal with such serious, message-oriented themes that audience clearly begin to miss the fun side of music, says Joel, from Tribal and Joe, a Hyderabad-based band, adding “Even the audience that does attend such concerts mostly comprises friends, supporters or those related to the performers in some way or the other.”
If you think the openness of audience is different for big bands and small bands, think twice. Joel says, “No one can stop you from rising if you're really good. The issue of less crowd numbers or venue is also due to the kind of music you make.”
Most of these opinions collectively suggest culture change, more than cribbing about the availability of venues. There are aspects we can improve on, the indie-music groups admit. Commercial pressures are cited as excuses. Allocating more time to music and promoting lesser is an important aspect, says Jacinth. “Between promoting and making music, we managed only two albums to date, whereas sans the double-job, we could have ideated and written more and even made 10 albums by now,” he quips.
Kamran adds that bands need to approach the market smartly to gain popularity and worry less about the venues. Joel throws up a suggestion:
“Like karaoke where people are invited to sing, why can't there be more open jamming sessions to usher in a change in the open-mic culture? That'll make crowds and music lovers enjoy the indie-flavour better.”
