What do you do when you’re a band that has won more than 20 competitions in a year? Well, if you’re alternative rock band Space Is All We Have, you go for even more gold. The Bengaluru band, which came together from architecture college in early 2014 won the regional round of band competition Road to Converse Rubber Tracks and make their Mumbai debut at the finale on April 1. If they outclass the rest of the nation-wide competition here as well, they get an all-expenses paid trip to Brooklyn to record at the Rubber Tracks studio.
But the Road to Converse Rubber Tracks finale is different from the rest of the college competitions the band has cleaned up. The band’s guitarist Krishna M Sujith says it’s different in terms of competition and scope. He adds, “It’s a bigger brighter opportunity and we’re glad to be a part of it. We were very nervous initially to get through the voting rounds and the regional rounds but now that we’ve made it this far, we're confident enough to take Mumbai by storm.”
Space Is All We Have made inroads with the college crowd with their unique sound – something that combines the existing love for instrumental ambient rock with progressive rock elements and catchy hooks from mainstream alternative rock. Says keyboardist Yogeendra Hariprasad aka Yogi, “Our sound isn’t the most accessible and is different from what most bands sound like, so, it comes off as something new and intriguing. We think this has worked in our favour at winning competitions and earning a fan base. Human mentality is such that it is amused by something new and learns to take a liking to it over time. Win-win here!”
With 10 tracks in the bank, the band will pick four of their top numbers and their signature intro track. With all the competition experience, it’s a bit surprising to hear that they still have a case of the nerves before getting on stage. Hariprasad says, “There are always pre-gig jitters but once we get on stage, the whole band gives it their all and truly has fun in the process. We aim at glory but the gold is always an incentive.”
Competing against the likes of Delhi alternative/electronica act Komorebi and Shillong rock band Dossers Urge, whom Space pegs as favourites at the competition finale, Sujith says there’s going to be a lot in store for the band regardless of whether they win at Converse or not. He adds, “We are currently tracking our first full length album which should be out approximately by June or July and we're really enthusiastic about it. We also have a music video coming up for one of our songs, ‘She's from Venus’. We have a lot more material which we will uncover in due time.”
