With unconventional music arrangements and music projects that seem more like a work of art, a new wave of music is slowly emerging in the country. Stars like Bob Dylan and Mark Kozelek serve as inspiration for these bands whose music resonates with a lyrical and poetic quality. Bands like Slow Down Clown, Dischordian, Medusa, Sridhar/Thayil, Khiladi, Sajid and The Lost Boys are definitely redefining the ‘musicscape’ of the country.
Perhaps Garreth D’Mello of Dischordian explains, “Dischordian was an attempt to move away from the wall of sound and aggression that makes up rock music. I wanted to retain the intensity and depth of feeling, but strip the music down to its basics – one guitar and one voice, rhythms, melodies and words.”
While this relatively new movement is slowly taking wings, Vitek Goyel of Slow Down Clown believes, “It is only now that we are moving into the alternative realm in India. The same change occurred in the US as early as the 80s.” Vitek, whose lyrics are evocative says that he has always fancied himself as a writer. “I’ve been influenced by musicians like Isaac Brock who are poetic lyricists. Whenever I would listen to Indian bands, I would love their sound, but I always found the lyrics contrived and clichéd,” he adds.
If there is another group whose music hinges on poetry it is lyrical pop duo Sridhar/Thayil. Suman Sridhar and Jeet Thayil, whose music traverses storytelling, theatre and poetry, juxtapose sweet jazz vocals and ‘urban grime’ over guitar and broken beats. Jeet says, “It is inevitable that there’s a blurring of lines between poetry and performance. Our music is more like an art project with Suman being an actress and me being a poet. I cannot label my music. We meander between jazz, blues, pop, rock, lyrical and electro.”
Another band with its own ‘sound’ is P-Man, Rohit Pereira’s Khiladi. Espousing the cause of meaningful lyrics to an experimental score,
Rohit says, “Khiladi’s shows tend to be a lot of fun and filled with light moments as opposed to ‘destroy, kill and die’. Our music is serious and the messages we give out are of awareness, presented in a funny way.”
While times and attitudes have changed, with audiences accepting alternative bands, Vitek says, “I think there is a long way to go. People do not have enough exposure to music that is ‘under the radar’. The best place to find new music nowadays is on the Internet, and that is where the future of the music industry is going.”