These are the guys who had, a long time ago, sounded a clarion call for us all to slow down. Pause. Think. “Arrey rukh ja re bandeh, arrey tham ja re bandeh” had become India’s rock anthem way before the new millennium when Black Friday, the film it was used memorably in, was finally released. Indian Ocean had composed the soundtrack for the Anurag Kashyap film on the 1993 Bombay blast, based on the remarkable book by S. Hussain Zaidi.
Artwork for the new single Priya Brahmbhatt and Sumit Jain
They’ve been around for over thirty years, released several albums (Desert Rain, Kandisa, Jhini, 16/330 Khajoor Road), composed music for films (Peepli Live, Masaan) performed hundreds of concerts in India and abroad, lived through line-up changes, one brought about by tragedy; and won over a legion of loyal followers who have kept them going.
On Friday, Indian Ocean released a new song, “Akhiyan udeek diya”, a stirring evocation to love by the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, reimagined as a rock ballad with two-part vocals, a simple bass line that soundscapes the background and a measured juxtaposing of the drums and tablas.
The song, of course, is totally new now with reworked lyrics and a complex build-up.
Bassist and vocalist Rahul Ram spoke to Telegraph Online on their latest offering, losing founding bandmate Asheem Chakravarty, live shows and the road ahead after Covid-19. Excerpts:
Tell us a bit about the song. Why did you choose it?
Rahul: Himanshu (Joshi) and Amit (Kilam) chose the song...because they liked it, not any deeper meaning there! Himanshu grew up at Jamia Millia and learnt Urdu and a lot about qawwalis and ghazals as a consequence. Of course, since he loved music. We ended up just using the key line 'Akhiyan udeek diya' using the original tune by Nusrat sahab. Rest we all composed together. Apparently, in qawwali, people import lyrics all the time to fit the mood of the song... Himanshu got some lyrics written by Babab Farid, that he thought fits. Nikhil (Rao) came up with that awesome hook line.
What did the song say to you all?
Like all sufiana music, this one too is about love and yearning, but it is up to interpretation whether this love talks about a human lover or God.
When I heard Nusrat sahab’s song again, I realised you all approached it afresh. It is only towards the end of your version that we get a glimpse of the original only to blend in beautifully with the guitar outro. How difficult is it to redraw a beautiful painting?
To tell you the truth, we never kept the original in mind while composing this song! At least, I didn't. We work together, jamming on different parts, and the song took several months to come together. Then, when we thought we were done, Nikhil Rao made the opening part, all the way up to the metal-sounding hook-line, which pushed the song over 10 minutes! So, to tell you the truth, we didn't redraw a beautiful painting... More like seeing it once and then reimagining a painting much later.
How long has the new album been in the works?
Oh… Our last album was released in 2014! So, the bald answer would be 6 years. But we did music for Masaan in 2015, and then worked on four songs for a film that never released. This track was recorded almost 3 years ago: Times Music had asked a bunch of artists to take a Nusrat track and remake it, as part of a planned album. That project hasn't come to fruition even now So, yes this song was actually imagined over three years ago. The remaining tracks: Some were part composed three-four years ago, some were recorded three years ago, and one was recorded just a few months back.
The band Photo courtesy Indian Ocean
Why did you choose to release the song now?
We were planning to release all our new songs around this time, with videos (some lyrics videos, like this one; some with us playing the song, some with just images, and some with some external footage. We had shot some material in December (2019) and January (2020), then we got really busy with shows. The lockdown threw all plans out of gear. But then we thought, let us release a song now, when everyone has time to listen. And thus, we started working on this specific song release from the end of last month.
Are you all planning any concerts tours? But of course if and when we ever get out of the mess we are in now.
Of course. But with Covid pushing the likelihood of live concerts off towards the end of the year, we will have to see how matters evolve.
Indian Ocean in performance at RCIIIT in Calcutta in April, 2018 Ushnish Kanta Chakraborty
Indian Ocean has been around for three decades. There have been a couple of line-up changes. What keeps you going?
The music, of course! Asheem's death (December, 2009) was the lowest point in the existence of the band... he was in a coma and slowly recovering for about two months before he died. So, we kept playing, hoping that maybe, in a year or so, he may come back. By the time he died, we had already done about 20 concerts without him, and decided to carry on. Susmit's (Sen) leaving was another jolt, but we had seen it coming, as he had started losing interest, possibly Asheem's death had caused it to sharpen. We were prepared for that, and he helped coach his replacement, and we did a few shows with both the guitar players. Now, I think of our line-up as Indian Ocean Mark 2... and we continue to have fun and evolve as a band. All the 'new' guys (remember, Himanshu and Tuheen have now been with the band for more than 10 years, and Nikhil Rao just completed seven years with us) have contributed to the sound, which is exactly the way it should be. We never wanted them to try and clone what had gone before, since that is the way to destroy a person's originality and creativity. So, we sound different from the way we did 10 years ago, and we're having a lot of fun while doing so.
There is no music business left. Everyone downloads music for free. And musicians are left high and dry. Your thoughts.
Great question. Musicians now have to perform live to earn a living, which means your livelihood is dependent on your health. Royalties were anyway never enough to support any musician, especially in India. This lockdown also now means live performances will not start before the end of the year. I want to explore monetizing live streaming shows. Say, asking people to pay Rs 10 per hour and do a live show (once the lockdown is over). I think that's the way to go, and maybe something that will outlive the lockdown, since it allows people from smaller cities and across the world to listen to you live, at a really low cost. Let us see.
