What do prog metal riffs, 80s and 90s Bollywood and street food have in common? The answer to that is Mumbai-based hardcore metal band Scribe, who have just released their third album Hail Mogambo in October.
The band is promoting the album with a run of shows across the country, and perform at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender festival here, at the Embassy International Riding School between November 8 and 9.
Comprising bassist Srinivas S aka Vaas, guitarists Akshay Rajpurohit and Prashant Shah, vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy and drummer Virendra Kaith aka Viru, Scribe have spent three years working on Hail Mogambo , longer than either of their previous albums, Confect and Mark of Teja . Vaas says making their new album wasn’t just about shutting themselves in a room for marathon recording sessions to finish and release songs. “It was about relationships and how, as a band, it helps you connect and understand one another and make music that is much more than just riffs and chords. This was a great learning experience for us in terms of finances as well,” the bassist adds. While Vishwesh and Vaas are filmmakers and Prashant works in the visual FX industry, Akshay and Viru are full-time musicians. Viru chalks it down to the time taken up by day time jobs as another reason it took three years.
But with the album out now, Scribe have been more than happy to turn around and ask fans whether they’ve bought the album. Vaas jokes, “We were initially quite guilty for having made our fans wait, but then when the album was released – our fans were the first to tell us to stop being apologetic!” Viru adds that although the album is currently available online as a digital download, they might get a limited number of CDs printed for fans to own.
For anyone who likes their metal quirky or might dig music that takes you by surprise (equally evident at most of Scribe’s live shows – from all-girl moshpits to crowdsurfing), Hail Mogambo has it all. From cinematic synthesizer sections to chunky guitar riffs and growled vocals topped off by jumpy drumming, it’s no surprise to hear Scribe find inspiration in the unorthodox. Vaas says, “Someone either hears vehicle sounds or birds chirping or even static noise that just makes your feet tap. And of course, the gloss of Bollywood cannot be ignored either.” Viru adds, “It (song construction) can be a way in which someone is laughing. In the end, if it sounds good, then why not make use of it?” Scribe also regularly reference Hindi films like Mr. India (the album is a tribute to the film’s mastermind villain, Mogambo) Andaaz Apna Apna and The Gentleman in their lyrics and song titles. Vaas says as much as most Indian independent bands think Bollywood music is currently direct competition to the scene, he doesn’t rule out covering Bollywood songs. “But it will have to be our version of it. Unless of course, Sonu Nigam or Kumar Sanu agree to tour with us,” jokes Vaas, while Viru adds, “I do listen to a lot of other non-metal stuff, which is the same with the other members as well. But when we come together as Scribe, a different side of us, which can be a blend of Bollywood, pop, dance, dub, metal, opera, etc, etc, comes out. It’s like that maara-maari drink you will get at local juice centre which is a combination of all the fruits together.”
The band says playing at the Weekender festivals, where they have been regulars for the last four years, has always been fun, likening a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker relationship (Scribe being Darth Vader, of course). Vaas recalls during their Mark of Teja album promotion at Weekender, they actually set up a merchandise stall which also served up pav bhaji, for fans of their top hit ‘I Love You, Pav Bhaji’. Says Vaas: “Later on, we were told that the other food stalls in the vicinity wanted to sue us and demanded a hefty compensation because no one ate at their stalls!” Scribe will play at least five or six songs off Hail Mogambo , including ‘Calendar Khana Lao’, ‘Cops Cops (Cops Cops)’ and ‘Captain Raj’ along with older material. Vaas adds there might be some fan backlash this time, “The only reason we drop old songs is because we get bored of playing them, not to talk of our fans booing us for the same!”
