Summary
Children of Rock was organised by the Independent Artist Association to help independent artists grow
Seven independent rock bands from Kolkata performed live at Mohit Moitra Mancha
More than 400 rock music lovers gathered at Mohit Moitra Mancha (near Belgachhia Metro station) for Children of Rock, a concert organised by the Independent Artist Association (IAA), a community of independent artists from Kolkata. This is the third concert organised by the IAA this year.
The line-up included seven rock bands from all over the city — Moving In Circlez, Abhishek Dasgupta Project (ADG), Blakhole, VelvetMeetsATimeTraveller, Distorted Chromosomes, The unofficial Utopia, and Ibn Batuta & Tatar.
Children of Rock is part of a bigger movement ushered in by the IAA to help independent artists and bands grow and generate regular income. The IAA aims at bringing back the lost days of originals and the underground scenes. The movement brings different genres under an umbrella and promotes the concept of paid gigs.
“We help young and talented artists get a platform and generate consistent income. The performers of Children of Rock kept their trust in us. Children of Rock saw artists who follow progressive and post-progressive metal bands from West Bengal. We try to uplift that independent scene which does not receive enough exposure due to niece ear choice,” said Bishal Kumar Thakur, a 25-year-old managing director of IAA.
Organising a rock concert during the pandemic is a difficult task, but the organisers were confident in their efforts to adhere to COVID-safety protocol. “We took every measure possible while organising the offline gig. Wearing a mask was mandatory. Periodical sanitisation was carried out by our volunteers. We made sure that the artistes, audience and the organising committee members were all vaccinated,” said Souradeep Bhattacharya, the 28-year-old operations head of IAA.
IAA collaborates with different music rehearsal pads where these artistes jam. These pads are located all over the city allowing musicians to practise together without disturbing others in a professional setting.
“We visited the music rehearsal pads all over the city. We were happily greeted and the owners showed their support for our movement. Promoting rehearsal pads helped us deepen the roots of Independent art and music,” said Bishal, a 25-year-old Accounts graduate from Calcutta University.
A live concert is defined by the emotional connection with the audience, the heat, the sweat, the loudness of the bass drum, the electrifying sound of the guitars, and the magical moment when the audience sings along. All of these lements were present inside Mohit Moitra Mancha on Saturday.
Here’s what some of the performers have to say...
After two long years of the pandemic situation, I can say that people are eager to attend independent concerts like this. That is a big positive and it encourages us.
Boidurjyo Chowdhury, the 22-year-old frontman of Distorted Chromosomes
Live interactions with audiences matter the most for artistes. Online concerts cannot bring the madness that you experience only in live gigs. It’s a great relief to be back on stage.
Abhishek Dasgupta, the 30-year-old frontman of Abhishek Dasgupta Project
An air of suspicion is always in the air. You can feel it. That might have restricted a bit of the fun that we could have back then. But then again, a thirsty man would crave just a glass of water. And this is way more than that, to be honest.
Roger Strings, the 24-year-old frontman of The Unofficial Utopi.
The audience was loud and lively. The entire crowd was energetic and interactive. At a certain moment, they created a circle pit, which fuelled our performance.
Savio J. Gomes, the 25-year-old frontman of Moving In Circlez
Last updated on 22 Nov 2021
