COIMBATORE: Quick! What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Indian Ocean”? Most people would think of the huge sea at the base of the Indian peninsula but those who are tuned in will know that we’re talking about India’s iconic folk-rock band. The band, formed in 1990, released its seventh studio album Tandanu last year. For 25 years, they’ve held listeners spellbound with their mix of contemporary rock, jazz, folk music and classical strains. They have also scored for Bollywood films like Black Friday (2004), Peepli Live (2010) and Masaan (2015). Excerpts from an interview with the band.
Indian Ocean completes 25 years this year. How has the band managed to retain its space?
We have been blessed with ardent fans who appreciate our music and that is the one and only reason, Honesty amongst our selves with each other has paid a huge role in it as well and being honest to the music we want to make and don’t want to make.
How has the Indian music scene changed in all the years that you have been performing?
It’s changed so much that the list would be endless. It is whole new world from when we started and the nice thing is its all for the best
Can you talk about some of the challenges the band has faced over the years?
We did not have a lot of shows or any money and very few opportunities. Pretty much what any new band faces today. But when we started, it was tougher to get the word out there than it is now. Now because there are so many avenues there is a lot of noise. One can get lost in that noise. The rules have changed but the struggle is still the same.
What was the experience of working in Bollywood like? Are you composing for any other films?
We have always chosen projects on the merit of the director and the script and hence worked with only like-minded people hence our experience has been great always. We just did music for a Marathi film, which was great fun and hope the film does well.
What do you think of the growing number of music festivals? Is this a good thing for independent musicians?
Of course it’s a good thing. We hope they will all prosper and be great.
You collaborated with so many musicians for Tandanu. Could you talk about the process of collaboration? How do you choose whom to collaborate with?
The selection process was firstly based on people with whom we have wanted to collaborate for a while and musicians for whom we have a huge respect. Then we also figured that they should not be all vocalists. We can’t thank our collaborators enough. Each one of the taught us something new and we love them for that.
If you were asked to pick Five must-listen Indian Ocean tracks, which ones would you choose?
This is a tough one. I guess they would have to be ‘Kandisa’, ‘Bhor’, ‘Man Kasturi’, ‘From the ruins’, and ‘Village Damsel’.
Many of your songs were responses to socio-political events. How important do you think it is it for artistes to take a stand on what is happening in the country?
It’s strange that people say that. But it’s not true. May be four or five songs are based on socioeconomic issues. But, nonetheless, it is very important to talk about these things and also for artists to express their feelings through their art form. And that’s exactly what we do.
