Current Attitudes In The Indian Independent Music Scene by Ramya Patnaik

Photo courtesy Rahul Lal

Thus spake a beautiful man with a beautiful beard: “Indian metal has hit puberty, now it only needs to get laid”... To those who call us a product of “western ideals”, to those who claim we don’t exist, we raise a familiar finger in response to their ill-informed, half-baked assumptions. But the independent music scene in India has come a long way from a time that recognized it as just a rebellious wing of mainstream culture. Or has it? Long years ago we made an aural tryst with Guns N' Roses, Nirvana and Metallica. Today, Iron Maiden have openly professed their love for their Indian fans; Joe Satriani, Opeth, Freak Kitchen, Guthrie Govan and Infected Mushroom have come and gone and come winter, fans will have a lot to cheer about courtesy Meshuggah, Enslaved, George Howe and The Prodigy. More importantly, Indian rock band The Circus are currently Down Under, Hardcore/Metal band Scribe are back from their gig at THE INFERNO METAL FESTIVAL, Norway and Black/Death/Power Metal act Demonic Resurrection from BRUTAL ASSAULT, the Czech Republic. While these examples may sketch a rough sense of familiarity for those not actively involved with The Scene, there is a great need to gauge the actual temperature of what’s really happening in the community.

An initiation into the scene via a gig may yield two responses: either blind love, or utter disdain. The real or perceived problem however is, that most of us are comfortable with retaining the first impression we have of Indian musicians in the independent scene. Those who make an effort to understand the processes that go behind ideas and events and the people-bands, officials, audience, critics etc, will point out the screeching naivety of such thinking. The nuances of its history, the nature of its present and the scope of music in the future all merit documentation akin to any other socio-cultural process that engages great thinkers and analysts with its fascinating working. The fact that it is the Indian context that we are talking about would intimidate one because of the need to be extremely accurate in basic definitions. Also, there are too many things involving too many people that to ignore an aspect would be by no means an insignificant risk.

Motherjane live at BITS.Photo courtesy Rahul Lal

Taking a timeframe of the past 10 years is a good idea to start with because most established bands of today started out back then and also because development in the last decade has been more visibly momentous than ever. In its nascent stage, basic rock and metal music was greeted with much enthusiasm albeit as an alien trend lacking the ability to touch the average college-going enthusiast in any real way. Photographer Rahul Lal who has played bass with the band Prestorika talks about the mindset prevalent amongst his peers when the band first started out. “Initially we weren’t aware of any Indian bands other than Parikrama. We were totally influenced by western bands. We started playing for the fun of it. As things moved ahead and we began to be paid for gigs, it became an obligation to play well. Practice sessions became more serious. Not everyone had the same attitude towards playing, though...stricter practice meant less ‘daaru’ and fooling around with chicks. So some got more serious, others drifted away.” Adds Workshop and Albatross bassist Riju Dasgupta, “Back then, it was the cool thing to do and the only legal way to grow your hair long. I thought WWE wrestlers looked really cool with long hair and this gave me an excuse along with my favourite bands back then, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Mercyful Fate etc.

The essence of the scene as a collective of people draws from the fans. It’s safe to say that most people in the audience are acquainted with the bands and their music by the time they get to college. I asked Siddharth Chakravarti, an avid fan of metal, about the general level of knowledge among people today and if they react differently to gigs from say, 5-6 years ago. “Well...you still see plenty of poseurs in the Delhi scene unfortunately. (But) the scene has improved vastly from bands’ set lists to resources to general acceptance. People know their metalcore; I'll give you that...at least in Delhi.” When asked to comment on the ability of audience members to discern between bands’ sounds, Riju Dasgupta believes that “...onstage, the actual music is 25% of the act; the crowd comes to have a good time and in my opinion anything which makes them have a good time is good. Bands today have to nail that 25% plus offer something else. So unless your music bit is down and tight, the more intelligent crowd of today gives you no quarter.” Amateur musician and a regular at the circuit Piyush Verma was asked if he thought the people who come for gigs have an ear for and good knowledge of music. He points out the phenomenon of “quick judgement on the part of listeners who lack the patience to sit through the music of a musician before forming an informed opinion.” Concurs Akshaya Patwal, another fan and frequenter of the Delhi Metal circuit that even though the enthusiasm is definitely there, many people lack actual knowledge and prefer to live with assumptions than to learn- it is assumed that “if the vocalist can growl loudly, he is good...It’s basically cool to be a long-haired guy and live with the label of a ‘metalhead’”

The relationship between fans and musicians varies from band to band. While almost every new or well-established band has a Facebook page, is there any real interaction with fans? Sahil Makhija of Demonic Resurrection (DR) and Workshop insists that new or old, DR connects with all their fans. “We meet and talk to them at gigs all the time. If someone comes up to us we always make it a point to talk to them and we don't act like dicks!We are also connected online... I would reply to every Orkut scrap and now I answer almost every message, wall post, email etc from a fan.”

However it cannot be dismissed that a level of high-headedness does exist amongst certain people who hold positions of greater authority in the circuit, and amongst some of those who have been around for many years and are involved with management. This general opinion may never be accepted by the people in question but is like a victimless crime that can never be easily proven beyond personal anecdotes.

‘Poseur behaviour’ is an element that worries many serious musicians and enthusiasts. The popular magazine RSJ is criticised (albeit rarely openly) for being too exclusivist in its approach to incorporate real opinions and trends of the average crowd. However, it is often criticised in the same breath for selling the ‘rocker’ or ‘metal’ lifestyle through mainstream strategy and forgetting to look at music along with its nuances. While nobody disputes the pioneer role it has played in the marketing of Rock music as a viable commodity in India, it is hard to come across a non-RSJ employee in the scene who harbours a completely favourable image of the group.

Bhayanak Maut live at BITS. Photo courtesy Rahul Lal

The beginning of the journey for most kids may bear a strong resemblance to the story of Nishtha Kanal, an avid Mumbai gig-regular. “I was volunteering for my college fest gig which was being headlined by Devoid and Bhayanak Maut as I was interested in the organization part. Then two years ago I went for ‘Independence Rock’ (one of India’s oldest rock festivals) and that happened to be Zero's last gig. They were so amazing that I went home and downloaded their tracks. Before that I had had the feeling that Indian bands would never match up to the standards of big bands from abroad, which is why I had never bothered to listen to them.” Today she believes that bands like Zero are one of the best acts in India and deliver a better gig than some international bands. Lal believes that the audience isn’t “stupid anymore” and has plenty of options to choose from which means that few people can get away with playing just about anything on stage.

With sociological changes, parents are a little more easy-going when bringing up their children today. We see more school-going children at music events than ever before, both in and in front of the audience. And this has been a process spread over years. So is today’s audience getting younger, a trend to stay? According to Nishtha, parents play a much reduced restrictive role these days, allowing their children to attend concerts. “But this hasn't happened overnight. It took a long time, and if the mentality has to further improve, it’ll take longer.”

When asked whether the new generation focuses on refining their skills or get carried away by the coolness of it all, Siddharth opines, “The moment a kid gets passionate about his music...the first thing he wants to do is pick up an instrument and get on stage... especially in a genre like Metal, the power which a Metal gig projects... (pushes) kids to learn the guitar, the drums, even start singing/growling. People who are really into music are usually very devoted to their instruments once they start. On the other hand, you do see people picking up instruments for the cool quotient as well, but they usually learn 3 chords and call it a day.” What about the responsibility of the bands who inspire youngsters, in helping the audience mature?  “The bands do play a huge part; every kid has his/her musical idols- someone who you'd want to be like, at least when you start playing instruments...as you get better with time and practice, you find your own space... but the bands do play a huge part in pushing kids to pick up instruments in the first place.”

Is music as an art form missing out on its chance to endear itself to a crowd that is concerned with being like one’s idol but not the spiritual growth of one’s skills? Shantanu Chakravorty is a musician from Bangalore who is currently tabbing lessons for the guitar genius Rob Marcello on www.torrins.com. He believes that the root of all evil is in the way people practise. “It is surprising that people playing for as long as 25 years end up with bad playing habits and technique.  If you don’t beat yourself mercilessly when you practise...it becomes the sole cause of what we’re talking about. People need to learn to criticise themselves, not others.”

Motherjane live at BITS. Photo courtesy Rahul Lal

Says Siddharth, “polyrhythmic/Mathcore is the 'in' thing these days. Many bands use odd time signatures for the heck of it...it will come and go, just like black metal did with DR. While I don't blame bands for milking whatever success they get, this is where the poseurs/casual fans come in. For a lot of these fans, especially in Delhi, Undying Inc. is just music to swing your arms like an ape to. These 'fans' would react the same way to most forms of metal... see here's the thing, people who are into polyrhythmic metal bands like Meshuggah, Ion Dissonance, Periphery, Xerath etc will appreciate Undying for what it is- a band that has worked hard to get to where it is today, having endured plenty of brickbats in their early days. Delhi kids...don't need intellectual stimulation. They need a catchy chorus, a hook, a melodic bridge section or a heavy breakdown in which they'll punch each other’s faces... because that’s what true metal fans do apparently.”

Lal is of the opinion that “we're yet to mature enough as a music community to create an experience and not just a gig”. However, Riju believes that the difference in today’s kids is that they are “much better musicians than kids of my generation”. Many Indian households encourage young ones to join post-school music classes, especially if parents are musically-inclined too. Their children do extraordinarily well in their chosen vocation, even pursuing advanced education in music. What drive them are the respect for their art and the basic love for their instrument. When the monocles of definition, attire and frills are rejected, it becomes clearer to a musician that pure bliss and music for the sake of music are the ideals worth inculcating.

To gain a more refined perspective on the mindset of youngsters taking music classes, I spoke to Lambu Ata (name obviously changed; those who didn’t get the ‘Gunda’ reference immediately, lead extremely unfulfilled and sad lives), an accomplished musician playing with a well known band and running his own music school in south Delhi. He thinks that impressionable enthusiasts observe what happens in the scene and want to gain female attention with some shred action. But some honest students are very much steeped in the mastery of their skill. He rues, “Dishonest students take tuition classes and school-work seriously but watching a movie or chilling at home is an easy alternative to music classes for them.”

Textures live at IITD.Photo courtesy Maanas Singh

It’s easy to lose focus and join the doomsayers in condemning the future of our scene to permanent obscurity. It took a long time for the veterans to taste success in their endeavour, which is why wherever one looks, they seem to dominate. In the course of a casual conversation with a friend I realized that the bands young people support don’t even belong to their generation. An entire section of some very radical music is being ignored. While the poseurs will never cease to exist, it is extremely important to note that today’s generation of musicians like Guillotine, Devoid, October etc. are taking bigger risks, learning how to play more demanding styles and listening to much better music than their seniors. The underground/ independent scene is dominated by Metal, unlike scenes abroad where it is mostly a niche genre. Siddharth believes that “a turnout for a Metal gig may be more than say, a Blues gig, but the Blues crowd know their stuff, which isn’t always true for the Metal crowd”.

We forget that when the din dies out, the baton-bearers of the independent music scene will be the very musicians who for reasons voluntary as well as circumstantial, make up the REAL underground. While some choose to take stage early, others work on their technique for years before committing themselves to a band. The majority of musicians in the scene are everyday kids jamming in their bedrooms.

Bhayanak Maut at BITS. Photo courtesy Rahul Lal

It’s hard to make your voice count, harder still to make a full-fledged musical career in a system that is managed entirely by a coterie of people who seem to have been appointed by nobody in particular to manage something many of them don’t even understand the depth of- MUSIC. According to Lambu Ata, the scene is a lot more open to new sound these days, which has simultaneously opened the floodgates to more youngsters. But music is still not a viable career option in Delhi because there aren’t many studios nor schools for music that provide a degree course in music, although plenty offer certificate courses. Down south, schools like A R Rahman’s K.M. Music Conservatory, Prasanna’s Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music provide better infrastructure for musicians to follow their passion with diligence. Here, a combination of knowledge, fame and money are essential but elusive too, to make it big. Lambu Ata does however, credit television reality shows like Channel V’s ‘Launch Pad’, MTV’s ‘Rock on with MTV’ and Sony’s ‘Fame Gurukul’ in giving a boost to new talent. RSJ remains the unrivalled monopoly when it comes to organising a gig in most cities. Says Lambu, “Few other companies plan events at a local level. They are also the ones bringing international acts to India; so they behave selfishly and kind of molest a small band- they provide a platform to perform, but don’t pay them. This continues till the band members put their foot down and refuse to play without money. The harassment of talented bands is a malaise that comes with a single monitoring agency for gigs in Delhi.” Sahil Makhija has been widely criticized about publicising his band with an overzealous energy. But he makes a vital point about the need for bands to take on responsibility for themselves. He explains, “There was no one to do anything for me so I did it myself. Everything I do is born from the need to be successful. Sadly people are delusional about music and bands and the business part of it. Just because they don't see Metallica members selling their music or CDs etc doesn't mean they aren't being sold. Every band including Metallica has stood at merchandise stalls after gigs and sold their CDs and t-shirts. People don't realize that, they think there is something wrong with it. But in short I did everything because it was required and because I love doing it.”

Motherjane at BITS. Photo courtesy Rahul Lal

By the time I had finished researching for this article, I was mildly glum. But the last person I spoke to was a junior of mine from school. He currently drums for a band that is among the new crop of Metal acts in the capital called Scythus. The appeal of their music aside, his attitude renewed my hope. “We’ve all heard that the Indian/Delhi music scene isn’t going anywhere...but for me life and soul being music, I frankly don’t care what people say. Everyone has a dream, and my dream, my band’s plan is to be a stage/studio artist...”