Formed in 1970, it may come as a surprise to some that many of our favourite bands today have been influenced by German Electronic pioneers Kraftwerk in some way or the other. Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Radiohead etc have all cited Kraftwerk as an influence at some point of time in their careers. They set the standards for early electronic music, blurring the lines between music made by man and machine. Electronic music may not seem appealing to your average rock/metal fan, it may be even dismissed by purists, but if you approach Kraftwerk with an open mind, you’d be hard pressed to find any other band who have mastered this particular genre with such virtuosity.

Fun, Fun, Fun on the Autobahn

The simplest way to describe the music is instrumental electronica. The album is 95% purely electronic only featuring a bit of violin, guitar and flute. While the title track features both untreated and vocoded vocals; the remaining tracks are purely instrumental. Clocking in at a monstrous 23 minutes, Autobahn’s title track is meant to make the listener feel as if he/she is driving on Germany’s famed Autobahn (highway). Whether or not the song invokes images of cars and trucks is highly subjective (I certainly didn’t see any!), although it did remind me of old 8-bit video games from the 80’s. During my second listen, I realized the best way to enjoy the album was to let it play in the background while I pre-occupied my mind with some work. It serves as some fantastic background music, but just because it’s as long as ‘Echoes’ by Pink Floyd, it doesn’t make the experience the same! It’s not the kind of album you can pick up and listen to on the go, requiring a very specific mood. While the title track is epic in its own way, the rest of the songs are not so memorable. They all venture into similar sounding territory and are slightly disappointing.

Conclusion

Even after giving Autobahn a few listens, I’m still sitting on the fence with this particular album. On one hand, it sounds remarkably fresh, even though it was released a few decades ago. On the other hand, it’s hard not to think of it as somewhat sterile, unable to capture the emotions of traditional instruments. Ultimately, it is a difficult listen, but perhaps rewarding to those who can truly appreciate it.

[Note : this album was originally released in 1974]

Duos have been a mainstay of rock music ever since one can remember. The Black Keys, No Age, The Ting Tings and of course the White Stripes have thankfully rid the music world of the stale notion that rock is a number game, proving that a pair is just as capable of making the same amount of noise as a standard quartet. Nowhere is this fact truer than in the case of Cleveland duo Mr. Gnome, who in their second full length album ‘Heave Yer Skeleton’ pull out all the stops, running the gamut of every emotion known to man and thus providing the listener a rich sonic experience.

The closest reference points usually considered while describing a band like Mr. Gnome are female led Blonde Redhead and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but a more accurate comparison would be perhaps 90’s post hardcore legends Shudder to Think with their incredible similarity in the grasp of melody and rhythmic assault.

Using the same set of instrumentation as most duos, Nicole Barille (guitar/vocals) and Sam Meister (Drums) throughout this 12 song LP refuse to follow any convention instead opting for genre defying antics. Paradox is significantly woven throughout the album - delicate one second and explosive the next, alternating between cute and aggressive, the album travels wherever their imagination or technical prowess allows. A single listen to the striking ‘Today Brings a Bomb’ or ‘Pixie Dust’ establishes a somewhat undoubted fact; you’d be hard pressed to find a tighter band.

While the harmonious guitar lines of opener ‘Spain’ and ‘Titor’ are no indications of the belligerent sound that crowds the majority of this album, they offer up a sort of calm before the storm for the pummeling revved up guitar on songs ‘Plastic Shadow’ and ‘Cleveland Polka’.

Outstanding tracks such as the brilliant ‘Slow Side’ and ‘Sit Up and Hum’ contrast Barille’s feminine sweetness with Meister’s virtuosity switching between powerhouse drumming and deftly played rim shots with ease, establishing him as one of the most underrated drummers in the scene today. Even with just two people at the helm, they somehow manage to create sounds of orchestral proportions; Barille’s attractive vocals coupled with a bulk of driving moody guitar parts drawing the listener in even deeper.

‘Searider Falcon’ an instrumental which also proves to be the heaviest track on the album, appears to be designed for the sole purpose of putting subpar rock bands out there to shame. Truly through tracks like the playful yet somewhat dark ‘Vampires’ bordering on pop and the all too short ‘Hills, Valleys and Vallium’, which notably wouldn’t seem out of place on a dream pop compilation, they have issued a challenge to their peers, to expand their musical lexicon and range of expression, and throw off some of that stifling rock and roll orthodoxy.

The album comes to a close with the funeral procession opening of the title track, Meister complementing Barille’s whispery thin vocals with a moving piano riff, a somber end to an incredible record where everything down to the art is stunningly unique and perfectly appropriate, furthermore with absolutely no filler these are tracks are bound to stick in your head for days. Ultimately it is an album that comes along ever so often to reaffirm your faith in rock ‘n roll. An album that doesn’t sound the least bit contrived, it’s exactly as it should be, one of indie rock’s best kept secrets.

Sultan- Interview by Subhash Dawda

His set was rated #1 at Sunburn ‘09! And he’s back so that you can relive your Sunburn experience!

1. What does it feel like to come back to India after the awesome reception at Sunburn ‘09?

I am so excited to be heading back to India! I felt like I only got a taste of what India and the scene there has to offer and going back there for this tour is definitely going to be the highlight of 2010.

2. How would you rate Indian audiences in comparison to other crowds that you’ve played to?

The Indian audience, from what I experienced at Sunburn, is amazing. They are so responsive and their energy truly translates over. As a DJ there is nothing better than being able to connect with an audience and ride on a musical journey together.

3. What can we expect this time at your Sunburn gig at Blue Frog?

You can definitely expect a great vibe, great energy and a whole lot of fun.I’ve been working hard in the studio the past month so I will be debuting a lot of my latest productions and remixes as well.

4. What genre are you most comfortable playing, and where do you see your musical inclinations taking you in the future?

As a DJ and a producer I’ve never really stuck to one genre and have always found myself meshing house, tech house, progressive and techno in all my sets as well as my productions. At the moment I’d say my focus is more on vocals and melody.

5. Do you plan to take up live DJing, in terms of jamming with live artists, a Variety of instruments and more complex musical setups?

I’ve always been a musician at heart. Having played in rock bands most of my life I’ve always envisioned myself incorporating live elements in my shows especially the guitar. A live show is definitely something I am aiming towards in the near future.

6. Do you plan on exploring other genres as you mature as a musician?

For sure. As a music lover I listen to several genres of music particularly Indie rock, trip hop, electronica and a bit of pop, hip hop and jazz. I’ve already dabbled a bit with some of these genres and I know I’ll be exploring these genres a lot more soon.

Bands seen : Airport, Blakc (Acoustic), The Works, Something Relevant
Where: Bonobo (Bandra), Cafe Goa (Bandra), Gadda da Vida (Juhu), Hanging Gardens (Malabar Hill) respectively
When: 21^st, 24^th, 26^th, 27^th respectively

Ok, I’m going to do something a little different this week. There were just too many gigs and too little time to write about them. So rather than pfaff out five full-length reviews, I’m just gonna write about all of them in one weekly review. Smart, eh? If Philip Kotler had thought of that a few years ago, the lives of marketing students would have been so much simpler. Anyway. The gigs.

First up – Airport on Sunday (21^st). This is the new project involving Siddharth Coutto (wait, where have you heard that name before? That’s right, here. And here. And here.), Vinay Lobo (who’s been a popular guitarist in the Mumbai Indie scene for a while, most recently at the Blue Frog RHCP tribute). Completing the lineup are Morrison-lookalike Arijit Datta and Amit Ahuja, the happiest bassist in town (plays for Sridhar+Thayil). They play a mellow Hindi pop-rock but one should not make the mistake of dismissing them as a sellout act.

The venue, Bonobo, is this nice little rooftop pub tucked away behind KFC on Linkin Road, a surprisingly nice venue for live music. I forsee many more gigs happening here. Getting back to the music, it’s very easy on the ear – and being in a language that most of the country can identify with, I can imagine these guys going mainstream soon. Or atleast get a few Bollywood breaks, like Radio (may not be metchul, but atleast they’re a good bridge between Himesh and Sceptre)

Their list of songs – played to the public for the first time, apparently, consisted of nice easy stuff – including Raat, Jaane Bhi Do Yaar, Malal (which means regret), Yahan, Seher, Is Kadar and a very nice Baatein. While I enjoyed every minute of it, I couldn’t remember any of it, it all sounded similar. No one standout track. Highlights: Vinay Lobo’s effects and Coutto’s drumming.

Next up: Blakc on Wednesday (24^th). Who doesn’t love this happy grunge-punk band? Five super-talented guys whose first album, Choking On A Dream, is selling extremely well. A huge fanbase. Good originals. And in this little corner in Bandra called Cafe Goa, the boys continued to innovate with an all-acoustic (well, almost) set.

The mellowed-down tone, intimate and relaxed atmosphere led to one of the most fun gigs I’ve been at. There were no judges to impress or any critics to watch out for (I don’t count), the boys just wanted to have fun. There were jokes, cases taken (“this is Shishir and Jeremy on Djembe, they have no clue what the fuck they’re doing”), improvisations. But all throughout, what was fantastic is that the songs were excellent, the band was tight, and they took their music very, very seriously. Good to see.

People familiar with Blakc would have enjoyed the acoustic version of their popular songs – Sold, Field of Thought, Blacklisted (my favourite!), Paper Doll, Newspaper Boy, and others. My only complaint was on Rift – it sounded way less potent without the signature riff, playing chords was a poor substitute. But no matter – was still fun. We look forward to more from this band, whose second album has been promised to be ‘darker’.

But despite Blakc’s efforts though, 24^th February 2010 will still be remembered for something else.

What happened next? Ah yes, The Works played at Gadda da Vida. Another nice intimate gig (the alleged Tweetup didn’t have the Apple-releasing-new-product effect). Some classic rock from these five gents – ranging from Aerosmith to Deep Purple, and some nice deviations with Elvis and Michael Jackson. ‘Musicman’ Mihir Joshi, the lead vocalist is a showman of the highest order and you couldn’t help but hoping there were more people. Heard the shows at HRC were crazy.

But the highlight – without a doubt were the guitarists Shannon and Partho – the youngest Indians to sign exclusive deals with Gibson (with a B, yes. Stop rubbing your eyes). Shannon was stunning – one of the quickest guitarists I’ve seen so far – pulling off taps, MAB-type over-the-neck fingering with consummate ease. Stunning stuff. Though Mihir tapered off a bit at the high pitches and the guitar tone on some of the songs could have been better, I was fairly impressed with this bunch. Hope they play more, much more.

The gig of week for me was at a venue I’ve never been to before – Hanging Gardens at Malabar Hill. In part of the drive to bring back the ‘bandstand culture’ to Mumbai, bands will be playing here every week. On Saturday, good ol’ jam band Something Relevant played with, surprise surprise, the Mumbai Police Band. The latter started off and played stuff like My Heart Will Go On instrumental (Before you jump to criticise, ask yourself if your metchul heroes can control traffic and fight crime.). They also combined with STR on one of their songs, a fantastic medley.

STR’s always impressed me, with their careful song construction, use of percussion and sax, complex song structure and incredible tightness. Lots of stuff from their new album, Feels Good 2B Live, and to be honest I didn’t catch any of the names of the songs, was just too busy enjoying the music. And the flora of the place. And the fauna. Ahem.

These gigs happen every week, so keep an eye out. Hanging Gardens is a superb venue, and it should be fun to see which bands play there.

Well there you have it. 7 days, 4 gigs (Wish I could’ve made it 5 with Shaiir+Func, but ah). Good fun. I could use more weeks like this.

After the reunion of Blink 182, AVA seems to have taken the tag of a side-project, with their new release ‘LOVE’ coming out after a three-year gap since ‘I-Empire’.

One statement made by vocalist Tom DeLonge (when the 2005 debut ‘We Don’t Need to Whisper’ was released) that most critics like to take into account before writing their reviews –

“This is the best music made in decades … we’ll be the biggest rock act in the world. There’s never been a rock band from America that sounds like us. And I hope that what I just said raises more than a few eyebrows.”

Right.

Nonetheless, the band has returned with promise. ‘LOVE’, apart from being released on, well, February 14, was also released as a soundtrack for a movie of the same name. The movie is expected to release in April 2010. The best part – it’s available for free download!

Getting back to the album, ‘LOVE’ opens with an instrumental intro ‘Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce’ (Latin for “lead the world by light”). Followed up by the 6-minute long ‘The Flight of Apollo’, the album begins to  deliver what was promised – a space-y, progressive, synth-aided, almost atmospheric rock that appeals to fans and newfound listeners as well (who should be fans of U2, at least!).

Before you even know it, ‘Young London’ begins in a undisturbed flow. This song at some point of time shows traces of Blink 182, with strong pop-punk vocals that still seem to come from Tom DeLonge. Others having Blink-influenced riffs and vocals as well as the signature AVA alternative sound include ‘Shove’, ‘Epic Holiday’, ‘Hallucinations’ and ‘Letters to God, Part II’.

Many sections of certain songs were left instrumental to serve as a score for their movie as well. This is usually placed as a concluding movement of sorts, possibly emulating Pink Floyd. Instrumental sections on ‘Love’ are the strongest indicators of great production, which is always a plus in today’s scene.

The only thing I can be critical of on ‘Love’ is the lyrical content, which is almost cheesy at times and then too philosophical at other instances.

Unpredictable, life’s a miracle

We all are love and love is hard 
We’re hard to love

All in all, ‘Love’ is still palatable, listenable and an enjoyable album. Returning fans will not find much to complain about (maybe song titles like ‘Soul Survivor (…2012)’ and ‘The Moon-Atomic (…Fragments and Fictions)’?), and new listeners would have heard the unique mix of prog-rock and alternative pop that AVA continues to stay true to.

Go Download it, and contribute financially (if you like) at http://modlife.com/angelsandairwaves/love

Blackstratblues is Warren Mendonsa’s project in Kiwiland, and if you didn’t already know that, kindly jump out the closest window. And don’t look down.

Blackstratblues returns with an apt name for his album and some great tunes for the ear. Called ‘The New Album’, keeping in the tradition with the dry humour that has accompanied all of Warren’s projects (read: Albummed, Procrastination, Nights in Shining Karma), this album like the last one is up for free at Warren’s website.

The album opens with a light cat and the fiddle sounding song – The Happy Billi Song. The track’s an instant joy-trip. The album shows Warren’s range and turns next into Lullabyebye, a track that starts slow and picks up like a charm. Newness is where you see Warren take a step higher. Great composition with Pt. Bonjonum on the pakhawaj, the song shows great evolution on the part of the guitarist. The next few songs are some of the most breathtaking guitar parts in recent years with some great vocal performances by Johnny Barker on Another Sun and Emma Walter on Older, Wiser and Grey. Walter does an exceptionally good job of leaving a haunting presence of her voice. Ode to a Rainy day is another stellar piece by Warren with a great hook and bass line. It has always been Warren’s way to make the guitar talk more than just play notes and he evokes great emotion out of the Black Strat here as well. And he leaves the best for last – Ode to A Sunny Day – quite simply the best Warren since Christmas in July. Try concentrating on what you’re doing through this song. The simple riff keeps going for a whole 10 minutes of brilliant music that closes the album out.

Blackstratblues’ The New Album is a considerable production achievement over Nights in Shining Karma given that it features live drums and an evolved smoother tone. This album might not please everyone like NISK did, but for the fan, I guess it’s an offering from Jesus. For free.

Based in the Charente Maritime region of France, the collaboration between French composer Yonass Bignon and English vocalist Mandie Davis, assisted by two additional musicians in a live setting, has given birth to an album featuring an assortment of songs varying from trip hop to adult contemporary, occasionally bordering on lounge.

On receiving this lo-fi record in the mail, I was initially struck by the band’s apparent willingness to tackle taboo subjects like alcoholism, anorexia and bondage in their music, something not commonly prevalent on a debut album especially in the pop realm.

The album starts off with notable irony as the opening words of the album mention ‘ghosts’, akin to Mandie’s distinguishable ghost like vocals throughout the album. Kicking off with a song clearly based on the experiences of anorexia, ‘Under my Skin’ provides with its simple keyboard refrain and processed beats a simple but delicately moving melody. By the second song of the album, ‘A Seed’ it becomes clear that the albums stock in trade is intimacy often creating the sense that the music exists for the listener’s ears and for listener’s ears only. Such intimacy makes their music incredibly romantic, in addition to being incredibly gorgeous.

With a sound and line up similar to Bristol’s most acclaimed, comparisons to Portishead are inevitable but what differentiates them from the trip hop’s elite is the adoration of texture and sonic depth seen in standout tracks like ‘Accroché’ , with its compelling angelic vocals backed by processed beats complete with percussive breaks ‘and ‘Zephyr’ featuring syncopated rhythms indicating that for all the trip hop and lounge influences this album borrows from, this is for the most part a percussionist’s album utilizing impressive and eclectic instrumentation.

While the first four songs are more indicative of the mood of the album as a whole displaying a varied range of colors from a seemingly limited palette, the latter part of the album takes a downturn crossing the perimeter into a soporific, sleepwalking kind of haze. Some songs like ‘Colour of Pain’ and ‘Blink’ clearly miss the mark exposing the shortcomings of the album as the relative lack of versatility and tightness of structure letting the songs to meander on past their health.

Although the track ‘Sweet November’ offers an interesting take on pop music, a nice digression from the melancholy of the remaining songs, it does nothing to resolve the monotony of the setting album which in support of such tough subject matter calls for harder edged rhythms and more pronounced hooks.

Clearly stated this album is not one that will appeal to a wide audience but for the open minded few, it offers what it promises, a stripped down, nuanced, late night mood, one conducive to long drives. Ultimately the duo does exhibit a lot of promise laying down a solid foundation which hopefully can be built upon in future albums.

One of the first indie bands to have their album out in the new year, Ok Go show a noticeable shift in genres; moving towards a more psychedelic and funk sound.

‘Of The Blue Color Of The Sky’ or, for convenience, ‘Sky’, is a perfect example of what a band at the height of their fame can do with a new release. Ok Go clearly conveys this with their opening track (and lead single) aptly titled ‘WTF?’ Many of the band’s newer fans are sure to use this expression while listening to the synth-utilising, pace-shifting song. The clincher is the sped-fast solo, which guarantees to surprise.

‘This Too Shall Pass’ continues to provide the synth-pop, indie style that the band stays true to in their upbeat numbers.  But that’s just about where that ends, because the next 3 songs, beginning with ‘All Is Not Lost’, aim to mellow down the album, something that Ok Go try at other junctures of the album. Its hard to say whether they get it right or not. Another instance of this is two-and-a-half-minutes called ‘Last Leaf’ which is an acoustic song.

At other times, it is obvious that the producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT) influenced the band to get trippy. The psychedelic sound (and songs, yes FULL SONGS) on ‘Sky’ is to be appreciated, as is the genius who is Fridmann. Songs like, ‘While You Were Asleep’, ‘Skyscrapers’ and ‘Back from Kathmandu’ are clear winners for fans of neo-psychedelic rock.

To mention two tracks that stand out and rather retain the previous style of the band would be ‘I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe’ and ‘White Knuckles’. The latter has proved to be regarded as the “second favourite” on the album. The soulful, falsetto vocals on the album by Damien Kulash Jr. (influenced by Prince, at times) adds another musical dimension on ‘Sky’, allowing the band to tweak around with general sound on the album (which is quite unpredictable at times).

Lastly, a special mention to fans who like to own physical copies of music – ‘Sky’ is packaged beautifully and the concept behind the album (inspired by the book, ‘The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Colour of the Sky’) is shown to great detail in the inlay artwork.

So, if you’re a fan of eclectic, fun-filled, funk indie rock, ‘Sky’ is a treat. I dare to say this even though many other critics have panned the album for the shift away from the expected pop-rock norm. But I still have to agree with a few who say that ‘Sky’ is (nearly) a hit-or-miss album. My parting advice - judge for yourself.

Photo Courtesy : www.okgo.net

Armin van Buuren is an ardent fan of these two, and with a real pedigree come Aly and Fila from Egypt. This trance duo is a force to reckon with and have every bit the energetic, pulsating sound of uplifting trance running through their veins. They were in Mumbai at the Blue Frog this past Saturday.

Playing to an eager crowd with Mumbai’s trance aficionados thronging in numbers to see the World no #22 DJs strut their wares, they did not disappoint.

Ably opened by Brute Force, who spun some delicious progressive tunes with PHAT basslines and was an awesome beginning to what was going to be a heady night, a really long, heady night of goosebumpy tchoonage (Over 3 hours, a massive extended treat).

Right from his first track—Fila (or  Fadi Wassef Naguib ) playing alone in the absence of his partner Aly—squeezed the lemon out of the crowd, banging a thick, heavy bassline with a flurry of synth and melody laced all across as he banged uplifter after uplifter. Heavy tech and borderline psy elements paraded through segments and kept the set extremely tight and hard.

To the trance addict, the very intense trance addict, this brand of the music is pure bliss, as it represents a slightly purer, less commercial stand to the genre. However, a few people expecting more vocals were in for a little bit of disappointment as Fila stuck to their trademark non-vocal majority sound but peppered the mix with a few vocals such asa their remix of the iconic Lost by Sunlounger and Lange’s Out of Sky along with notables such as Filo and Peri’s Ashley and DJ Shah’s Back to You. Some of the massive non-vocal tunes were Lost Language and their mix of FKN’s Why which drove the crowd into delirium.

Quite rarely do you see DJs who will completely stick to their sound and style, and not bastardize it for the sake of the crowd and Aly and Fila stood for their sound and blew the place apart with it. Quite refreshing.

To sum it up, it was an extremely tight set, with Fila’s indescribably awesome mixing which is beyond seamless. A set which a lot of us will remember with goosebumps, spine chills and head-spinning madness.

American indie-rock band Vampire Weekend made the headlines for all the right reasons when they released their self-titled debut album in 2008. A weird mix of rock and African music greeted first time listeners, captivating most. Rolling Stone magazine would go on to declare it as the 56^th best album of the decade, no mean feat for a first time effort! The question was whether their sophomore album would be a worthy successor to the first and the answer is a resounding YES. ‘Contra’ by Vampire Weekend is a fantastic album which grows on the listener with every subsequent listen.

mmm..Horchata

The first thing about Contra that caught my eye was the girl on the album cover. Her blank stare and polo t-shirt, not to mention the pretty face, was alluring to say the least. The first track is the sweet sounding ‘Horchata’ (a Mexican drink) and helps set the tempo for the rest of the album. A unique aspect of Vampire Weekend’s sound is lead singer Ezra Koenig’s voice, which sounds more like a yelp. It infuses a playful vibe to the songs which in themselves are kaleidoscopic and sanguine. When I first gave the album a spin, I must admit I was a little confused. I couldn’t quite exactly put my finger on the exact genre, but Contra has a definite Worldbeat influence; infusing non-traditional folk music (African, in this case) with rock. Songs such as ‘Holiday’ ,‘California’ and ‘Cousins’ have an undeniable charm about them. Then there are the longer, more varied songs like ‘Diplomat’s Son’. But the one song that really sticks out (in a good way of course) is the album closer ‘I Think Ur A Contra’. The lyrics are honest and heartfelt and caps off the album brilliantly.

Conclusion

Vampire Weekend’s ‘Contra’ is a feel-good album and a really good one that too. The band successfully avoids the dreaded sophomore slump that many promising young bands suffer from. One word of advice: Invest some time in the album, give it a few spins, you might be surprised at what you find behind the beauty on the album cover.

“I think you’re Contra
I think that you lie
Don’t call me Contra
Till you’ve tried”

Location Courtesy : Blue Frog Club, Mumbai

Dischordian is a 3-piece band that comprises: Garreth D’mello (Vocals, guitars, slide guitar), Howard Pereira (Guitars, backing vocals) and Agnnelo picardo (Trumpet, Tjemba).

Dischordian were playing at Inorbit mall, Vashi. They played 13 tracks, comprising mostly originals and a few covers.

This was my first time seeing the band live, and it was quite a treat to watch them belt out their tracks. They started off their set with an original called “Same old conversation”. The track if metaphorically described was like warm chocolate cake melting in your mouth. Nice and smooth. Garreth’s vocals showcased a lot of soul in this song, while Agnnelo’s trumpet fill-ins and solos was the perfect cherry on the cake. Their next track “Scourge of Love” had somewhat of the same effect, except for this time; the chocolate cake had pop rocks in them. It was Groovy yet smooth. The vocal melodies on this particular song was brilliant and the guitar solo played by Howard perfectly blended into the song. At this point the crowd began to increase. More people from around the mall were peeking in and were quite content with what they heard. They then played a force field (Garreth’s ex-band) track called “she lied to me”. This song in particular didn’t impress me too much. The song was very semi calypso meet semi Latin. I am sure the song didn’t come out the way it was supposed to. A song called “Lover” followed this up. Nice bluesy touch to the song. One of those songs that can be played at a ballroom. A small little break followed when Garreth had to change to slide guitars. Interesting thing here is, Garreth started playing slide guitar when a bike accident broke his thumb. Now the man’s brilliant at it. Dischordian then started with a cover of the song “Wicked Games” by Chris Isaak. A very well executed cover. Garreth did justice to the vocals and grooved the song by adding some nice slide guitar. Must drink was the next song they played which was a Depth (Howard and Agnnello’s Band) song. Typical alcohol song. Nice and high. They then went on to play a couple of covers “Are you drinking with me Jesus” by Biafra Jello and “Throw your arms around me” by crowded house. The second cover in particular was brilliantly done and got the crowd going. At this particular point I happened to notice a mid aged couple with their kid. The wife wasn’t really interested in what was happening while the husband was “feeling it” (probably was reminiscent about his good old college days as a rockstar and what the present corporate world has done to him). Moving on, Dischordian then played a song called “Old Whore”. When this song was announced, Howard dedicated it to his aunt that put me in a shock for a brief period. In the next few seconds Garreth announced that this song was basically written for those old women you hate and wished they were dead, it was NOT about “whores”. The lyrics of the song were hilarious. The song itself was brilliant. This is the kind of song you would want to dedicate to your bitchy teacher. Ex girl or in Howard’s case, his aunt. They followed up with three romantic songs, “Baby may be” a song written by Garreth and his friend, a breezy song you’d want to sing to someone you love, “Sweet Carolina” a very nicely done Neil diamond cover, and “Stone”. Stone at first sounded more like a filler song, but when vocals kicked in, the song went into another new dimension. If you want someone to fall head over heels for you, this is the song that will take the prize. They followed these songs with a cover “You Love me” by Devotchka. Again, justice done to the song, very well executed cover. The next song “Your right heel” had a very goo goo dolls feel to it and bent more towards rock n roll. The song subtly talks about the body parts of a female and goes on to highlight that it’s the right heel that’s the killing machine. This song got the crowd going and received the loudest round of applause from the crowd. The final song of the setlist, “A bucket of blood” was my favorite of them all. This song had the perfect ingredients. Groove, funk and power mixed with the right amount of aggression. Brilliant song.

Overall a nice gig. Dischordian didn’t disappoint. Also a special thanks to Mel and Agnnelo’s better half for helping me around.

Photo Courtesy : Reverb Nation

Eluveitie (pronounce El-vay-Tee) is a Helvetic Gaulish phrase that literally translates to “I am the Helvetian”. Formed in 2002, Eluveitie has set an impossibly high reference mark in the international scene with their sheer mastery of authentic, hand-crafted folk metal. While Eluveitie always belonged to the fast growing European folk metal scene, they always brought some fresh wind into it: Eluveitie’s sound is authentic, traditional Celtic folk music combined in a unique way with modern styled melodic death metal. With their new Album “Everything Remains (as it never was)” they have managed to deepen every aspect of their already inimitable style and maybe more than ever can only be described by their own description “The New Wave of Folk Metal”.

And now the wave hits India for the first time! On 7th February, 2010, Eluveitie will perform for the first time in India, at IIT Guwahati, as part of “Alcheringa Xtreme”, IIT Guwahati’s annual cultural festival, the largest of North-Eastern India. This year, Alcheringa will be held from 4^th-7^th February, 2010.

Beginning with Between Infinity and Oblivion, a track that builds up an air of suspense with the quiet yet sinister sound of violins, as an introduction to the startling hurricane of blastbeats and guitar riffs that comprise its following tracks, Demonic Resurrection’s latest album, The Return to Darkness, is a deadly blend of symphonic choruses, flowing guitar solos, melodic keyboard lines and powerful vocals. The staccato sound of marching drums as a preclude to the speedy guitaring and even speedier drumming in The Warrior’s Return (pretty apt in context to the song) left me reminiscent of Lord of the Rings meets In Flames meets Satyricon. Where Dreams and Darkness Unite, the second track off The Return to Darkness, sets the tone for the entire album – dramatic echoing choruses and skillful work on the double bass accompanied by low, growling vocals and flying solos on the lead guitar accompanied by a strong, well-thought out rhythm.

On first listen, the intricate technical details coupled with the intense energy of the album are rather over-powering and would leave any listener wondering what just happened; however, Lord of Pestilence with its deep, pensive intro provides some respite and gave me the time to understand what just hit me. The use of symphonic sounds perfectly illuminates the lyrical themes of the album – destiny, the dark unknown and the angst-filled, tortured battles of life, leading to the creation of an album that is neither lacking in emotion nor musical skill.

On the downside though, I feel like I’ve heard all this before. Whether in the riffs of Dismembering the Fallen that left me thinking of Decapitated’s Symmetry of Zero or bursts of Meshuggah-esque off-beats and Alexi Laiho screams, I feel that the beautiful recording, pre-existing hype about Demonic Resurrection and the obvious technical skill of each musician can sometimes serve to conceal the lack of originality that occasionally surfaces. However, I do believe that The Return to Darkness is most definitely worth more than one listen. Tracks to watch out for are The Final Stand, Omega 1 and of course, my personal favourite, The Unrelenting Surge of Vengeance for the sneaky, eerie keyboard that suddenly cuts through the chugging guitar riffs and very well-worked drumming that left me in awe and made me wonder what the Demonstealer would cook up next.

“Goodnight guys!” and just like that, I walked away from the musician’s room at La Oasis hotel in Anjuna, Goa, feeling like the juvenile reporter, William Miller, in the movie ‘Almost Famous’. I had just been witness to the virtuosity of a dynamic trio, headed by Sharik (piano/keyboards), supported by Gael Petrina on the upright, double bass and of course, the wonderfully playful Thibault Perriard on the drums. Thibault hails from Paris, Gael from Equador (speaks French fluently) and Sharik, in fact, comes from Bangalore, although he did study in Paris as well, which is where he met the other two.

Make no mistake, there’s just three of them, and they’re only in their 20s… but they’ll put most rock/jazz musicians to shame! And if you’re a true music lover at heart, you’ll be struck by them just as I was, in the ONLY way that a plucked E string on a double bass hits you straight in the chest, leaving you gasping for breath and yet wanting more! In the three-hour span of experiencing this trio’s BRILLIANT performance, I was moved to the point that I just HAD to write all this down. The trio has just recently concluded an 8-city India tour, sponsored by Alliance Francaise and organized/coordinated by Armando (who is well known throughout Goa) and from what I’ve heard; they’ve had a blast at every gig here. Now, about the members…

Gael Petrina: Watching this dude play the double bass is an experience in itself, especially if you’re a bass guitarist yourself! He previously used to play the electric bass for a rock band but by the time he turned 17, his dad, who also happens to be a jazz musician, turned him onto Jazz. From that point, Gael took off on his own and there’s been no turning back. In his own words, “The way Jazz is different from playing Rock is that you have to not only know what you’re doing but you gotta also LISTEN to the others in the band.” I nod in agreement while silently ruminating on a lesson that most rock musicians don’t learn easily: anticipating what your band members are gonna play next and when needed, improvising your own notes and patterns along with them. He also stated (and I quote), “The thing about Jazz is that you get to feed off the energy of the others as well”. Holding his ground with a splendid wooden double bass, his repertoire on the instrument is amazing! Combining various playing styles, ranging from smooth walking bass lines to furious plucking and strumming, Gael would also resort to intermittent chords and wild octave jumps like I’ve never seen before. I can still see his mop of hair bobbing to the bass notes he thumps out, and then, suddenly jerking from side to side in unison to his own staccato notes… and at times, even seamlessly switching from plucking to bowing and then back again. Need I say more?

Now, about the drummer… besides the fact that Thibault offers some seriously delicious eye candy to the fairer sex in the audience, he also rolls out a whole lotta offbeat ear candy too, for those who care to listen. His style is so energizing and that he truly enjoys playing is very evident. For all the drummers reading this, believe me, this guy is a treat to watch… rich one-by-eighths and sixteenths on the high hat and cymbals accompanied by almost unpredictable offbeats. One thing i learned by observing Thibault is the way he interacts with the drum set. This guy treats it like a living instrument and he doesn’t just consider the drums to be fixed in their setup. He’d also tease out sounds, which most other drummers wouldn’t even have the creativity to try out. And with just one tom and snare, he beats out more drum notes than most rock drummers do. My favourite bit was when he’d emulate the sound of an echoing side snare tap. Awesome!

Sharik is a master on the piano and keyboards, and quite frankly, I don’t really consider myself to be qualified enough to comment on his playing style. As another reviewer put it, he’s quite proficient at “tickling the ivories”, so to speak. The only thing I can say is this: you have to watch him to believe it!

When I think about it now, coming across this trio in the midst of all the mayhem in Goa after Christmas was like discovering a mother lode of gold! And if you’re philosophically inclined, your eyes will open to the existence of the Ying-Yang within Jazz while you watch them jam together… the interplay of light and dark, or in this case, sound & silence, the soft vs. aggressive… and switching between them beautifully like instrumental poetry. You don’t have to be a jazz aficionado to appreciate what they have to offer… just listen with open ears. Overall, I consider myself lucky that I was invited to watch these guys play. It was like having a ringside view to Jazz heaven!

Photo credits: Stuart McLeod

Richard Bona, the immensely popular bass player from Cameroon will launch his latest album, Ten Shades Of Blues at Blue Frog next month.

Bona has played with the likes of Mike Stern, Steve Gadd, Larry Coryell and Randy Brecker amongst others. In 2002, he went on tour with the Pat Metheny Group as vocalist/percussionist.

Bona plays Blue Frog (Mumbai) on the 2nd & 3rd of February 2010.

Tickets:

> Standing: INR 1250

> Seated: INR 2500

Armed with possibly the world’s second most famous falsetto after Thom Yorke, vocalist Matthew Bellamy along with Christopher Wolstenholme on bass and Dominic Howard on drums, better known as the trio that form the highly acclaimed English alternative band Muse, offer up a politically charged atmosphere rich in paranoia and conspiracy theories in their fifth studio album ‘The Resistance’.

Muse is known for their complex style and introduction of new concepts in their sound in every record. They start off the album with the relatively simple ‘Uprising’, a song that in its anthemic nature, is really a call to arms against corrupt corporations. By means of a repetitive melody and a low and rhythmic deep end, the untypical sound is very heavy and dense, as a result of mounted synthesizers.

Following is the title track with its haunting introduction and catchy chorus with lyrics inspired by Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’. The song ‘United States of Eurasia’ shows the band wearing their influences, namely the legendary Queen proudly on their sleeves as they call to mind the classic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by featuring a blend of Arabian styled orchestral interludes, a ‘We Are the Champions’ style guitar under melody leading into the chorus and finally chanting at the end of the track with heavily overdubbed ‘Freddie Mercury’ like double tracking.

The momentum gained by the album in the earlier tracks however, does not carry onto songs like ‘Guiding Light’ with its 80’s inspired arena sing along power ballad feel and the lack of pace in the French sung and soon to be featured in the new twilight movie, ‘I Belong To You’. The organ intro to ‘Unnatural Selection’ and the fuzzed out synth of MK Ultra clearly uncover the art rock pretension of the band.

Nevertheless, Muse never cease to surprise with their innovation, this time presenting a three part compilation of classical symphonies with rock flourishes in the ‘Exogenesis’ series which unquestionably lives up to the grand promise of their titles. Sweeping keyboards, grand pianos, synthesizers and electric guitars turn this album into an all out rock orchestra.

Musically, a step in the experimental direction, the album may seem indulgent and lacking in consistency over a few listens; however, for true Muse fans it all but proves their versatility and deserves no less praise than their previous albums.

DISCLAIMER

This review does not claim to be an exhaustive review covering all artists and is selective in nature of review and coverage.

Sunburn 2009. An event that most of us reading this review right now have probably heard about, been at, or wished were there.

Fortunately for us at Chordvine.com, we were right there, in the middle of the action, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. This here is our insightful review and highlights of the Sunburn 2009.

The journey to Goa started slightly bumpily, with our VIP access rejected, and a GA Pass to get into, effectively putting us out of the hyped AfterDark sessions that made up half of Sunburn this year. But we didn’t stop, we bought ourselves a VIP pass, rather disdainfully, but we did.  Hmph.

And so the day it all ended dawned upon us. So many amazing artists waiting for us to soak in their sounds and vibes. We started our the day with a monstrous set from Nasha banging his trademark dubstep sound on the Tree Dome, this time sans partner in crime for the Order; Udyan Sagar. But still, perfectly aggressive as ever and quite awesome to be out-dubbed in the morning.

Moving back the familiar house and tech routine, Greg Pidc**k came up with the goods with a tight and razor sharp—yet smooth set with his trademark techno sound. And simultaneously Nikhil Chinapa brought his all familiar Submerge set with one hour of good ID-able tchoons.

Cut to the Tree Dome again and Sanjay Dutta, the Beast from the East, came up with a superb one-hour trance set, which had bang from the word go. Thick basslines and anthem-like sounds were peppered through the set, which—on its own would have be great—but I’d have loved him to do a downtempo progressive house kind of set which he did when he opened for Markus Schulz earlier in 2009.

The Sky was continuing with its house-y love and Mr. Norman Doray came in and zapped a lot of energy with his infectious and ultra-immersive style of performing. Brilliant set, with plenty of pure house, dancey, singable and lots of fun. For me, the No. 1 performer per say in the fest. Nobody performs the way he does. He’s as happy a camper as you are down there. He gets No.5 on the rank list.

Back to the Tree, where a man I have been dying to watch graced the stage. A guy who practically owns the tech trance genre, swooped in and continued from where Dutta left. So much tech, so much bassline, so much thump, so much madness. It was delicious. Of course, I had to miss a good 30 minutes of his set as me and few other journos waiting outside the Sky Dome for Armin’s interview. Which never came, big thumbs down to Media folks for this. We missed so much of Sander’s set, but I caught a good chunk of Pearl’s set which was tech-driven and perfect as a starter for the man coming up.

Okay, let’s forget everything else, and whatever we discussed. The 3 times in a row DJMAG poll NO # 1 artist is here. The most recognizable face of EDM—apart from Tiesto —the world through out. Armin van Buuren.

Now to understand why this one man is so good, and manages to wow crowds right from Quito to Goa to Adelaide is simple. His crowd gauge is perfectly in sync with the crowd. He reads them like a grown up reads alphabets. He knows exactly what to play and when and where to play. And that’s exactly what he did as the MEGA-LINER, ULTRA-LINER whatever you want to call him apart from the headliner—did.

He banged the bassline so hard, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him bang it that hard. The crowd went psychotic and even though 95% of them had no clue about the songs being played, the lyrics of most of his songs were being karaoke-d on the visuals and yet no one sang, YET, this man managed to make this crowd dance and jump and go neurotic for a whole two and a half hours. It’s a pretty mean achievement considering trance may not have the easy appeal that house sometimes does with Indians.

I was a little expectant he’s play half an hour of progressive trance, and those who’ve heard him, know he can really play that stuff and make you go take your hands and keep them flying. He chose not to and fair enough. I was the happiest during this set, and it was filled with everything, some good uplifters, awesome-est vocals of the year and that big PHAT bassline and kick combo that worked wonders with the Goa crowd.

It ended with a trademark encore of Burned with Desire and by this time the 15,000+ Sunburners were thoroughly roasted, barbequed and sizzling with hot sauce by now. We left dazed and confused. Utterly, most beautifully touched.

Tired and baked, we washed and got to AfterDark, for the only guy I was looking forward to in the sessions. James Harcourt. A propah techno set, with the necessary aggro and hard punching tech-tronics, it was easily the best AD set, and made me slightly happy about shelling the 3450 extra that I had to for VIP. Hmph again.

The night ended with Boombaba and his quirk-filled tech housey feel which was great. I just wished we could have had two of his sets, maybe three so we would have avoided Whosane and Clement. Ughh.

So, let’s round it up shall we. J This is the best festival I have been to. And considering I haven’t been to many, its not a big deal—yet—is. To bring so many good artists and create such a grand stage for EDM on India soil is a tough task. And to do it so smoothly is commendable. PDM and Mr. Chinapa take a bow, lads, take an effing bow. J We are still aggrieved at not getting the VIP and waiting and not getting to interview Armin. And believe AfterDark was a lot of hype with little to show and next year we wish it has a lineup to match the equal costing of On the Beach (which quite frankly was brilliant and paisa-vasool). All in all, a great 3 days and time well spent.

Not finished yet. Look down for the top 5:

NO # 5 Norman Doray

NO # 4 Sander van Doorn

NO # 3 Sultan

NO # 2 Armin and Roger (Yes, you expect them to be that good)

NO # 1 Nawed Khan (Anjunadeep to sign you, my prediction)

11) What’s the craziest thing that you’ve done on stage, or that’s happened to you?

Well I fell down on stage in front of 8000 people! They had these confetti bombs, and the paper’s coated with grease… So I take one step towards the monitor and I’m *insert slipping-on-grease-coated-confetti-like sound* and all the while I’m like must-not-let-Strat-hit-ground! I fell on my toe… Played the gig, after it removed my shoe the toe had swelled to twice the size and I couldn’t even walk!

Another gig – Festival of New Noise, we were playing No More Mistook, crowd was full of metalheads, and one guy comes up and does this to Rajeev *half of Victory-sign *. I don’t know all this is happening, finished my solo and Rajeev’s supposed to start off on vocals, and I can’t see him anywhere! I see a scruffle somewhere, Rajeev’s on top of this guy, beating him up, the Pentagram guys came in, and all this while I’m still playing ting-ting-ting-TING, and very calmly, he comes back and starts singing!

11) How was the reception this time? Did you expect 800 people at Hard Rock Cafe?

I had no clue man. I thought there’d be some 100 *WTF expressions from interviewers*. To be honest, it never strikes me that we’ve accomplished whatever – We were a decent band, wrote some decent songs, but never to the point where we’ve made a mark, or will forever be remembered. I went to Mithibai to judge their show and all these chicks are taking photographs, and I’m like, “No no no make them go away!” I try not to think about it! Try to keep everything in perspective, I play guitar, try to write good songs, if people like it, great! Hope I make a living out of it – not a very ambitious guy!

12) Then what do I tell those girls who’ve been pinging me, looking at the photos and asking who that hot lead guitarist is?

Tell them his name is Tajdar Junaid. He’s got his Myspace page and Facebook page. *huge laughter*

13) So what’s next for Warren and BSB?

Immediately I go back, start rehearsals for Blackstratblues gigs. Maybe collaborate with two other guitar players – one guy called Dylan Storey, other guy’s from a band called the Subterranes – really good improv-based guitar players.

14) What would you like to tell aspiring guitarists? Guys who’re now 20, and want to get where you are now, at 30?

You gotta be really obsessed, you have to put in the hours and everything. I made sure I played everyday. You’ve got to get to a point where you don’t have to prove anything to yourself or anyone else, you’re on a strictly musical level then. You don’t need to play fancy taps or sweeps for the heck of it, and do what the song needs - you can still be a great guitarist with just three chords - like Pete Townsend. Or Malcolm Young – Angus was the hotshot, but Malcolm kept it together.

Focus on rhythm playing. Even when playing solos – if timing or the phrasing doesn’t have the rhythmic sense, takes away so much. It’s like speaking – there are commas, paragraphs…

Work on your tone, you don’t need to copy someone else’s tone. I tried doing that, but at the end, it sounded like ME, not like the guys whose tone I tried to copy. Check out the sound of your (electric) guitar without plugging it in, listen to the sound acoustically, make sure there’s no fret buzz.

Work on your bending in-tune, so it doesn’t sound like an old lady screaming. A lot of my solos come from a vocal melody. Every time I’m stuck, I just put the guitar down, and try and hum out a melody and then play. Then you get to a point where, what plays in your head, comes out on the guitar simultaneously.

Put your ear against the speaker, at that height, and see what it sounds like. You’re standing at a height, the amp is on the ground and you don’t hear what exactly the mic is picking up. When it comes to tone, I try to get the lows, mids and highs balanced.

15) Are you working towards an Indian sound? I noticed CiJ is actually an Indian scale…

No really. While I lived here, really didn’t care about Indian music. When I go there (NZ), I guess I started missing home and crept in subconsciously. You know when you play ‘Indian’, the notes are still the same, it’s only the phrasing, the approach, the little slides called gamak. There’s a lot of stuff I do, which I don’t take live, because it’s not consistent yet.

I still think I play too much (in my songs) *smiles* I’d like to play a lot sparser. You don’t want to be the guy at the party who talks non-stop, you wanna be the guy who makes one quip, and everyone’s on the floor!

16) Yup, that’s about it! Thanks a lot, dude, for doing this!

All good, thanks for coming!

Download the full 46 minute interview here!

Bonus for Chordvine readers: Check out Warren playing the xylophone here!

Hooks (pun definitely intended) why you should download the full interview:

1. The real story behind PSP – how it went from being a piece of crap to the #1 song of the decade ;)

2. How Varad knows the PSP chord names better than Warren

3. Warren on the Fender Stratocaster vs Les Paul

4. Guitar geek alert: Why Warren plays half step down

5. The music scene in Auckland

6. More details on how The New Album was recorded

7. Warren’s personal favourites with Zero

Deepak Gopalakrishnan and Varad Wategaonkar are Zero/Warren freaks based in Bombay. One is an Old Man Sitting On a Corporate Porch, the other is Not SSJ College’s Type Of Engineering Student. Reach them at www.twitter.com/chuck_gopal and http://twitter.com/iDADDYDOODLE. Photos taken by the ultra-talented Prateek Dubey.

By Deepak Gopalakrishnan and Varad Wategaonkar, who remain fans of each others’ surnames

We’ve been devotees of the guitaring of Warren Mendonsa since we heard our first Zero tracks, and put him on the same levels as David Gilmour and Jimmy Page. For us, Cry rubbed shoulders with Eruption, and Anuva’s Sky with Always With Me.

Imagine how thrilled we were then, when we got the chance to interview the legend, who now has his own project in New Zealand called Blackstratblues (more background here).

The interview was more of a freewheeling conversation, and we found it hard to cut down on the text, because it was all so entertaining. So here we’re providing the text of some selected bits, as well as the audio download of the interview (46 minutes, 10.5 MB in 32 kbps MP3 format). As a bonus incentive to download, we’ve not transcribed a lot of the juicy stuff into text ;)

Enough blabber. Here’s the interview. Yenjai!

1) Everybody knows the post-Zero Warren. What happened before that? Where did it all start?

Grew up in Dadar (pumps fist), before I moved to NZ. Dad (Darryl Mendonsa) was a bass player in a band called Savage Encounter, so I always had guitars and amps lying around the house. Around 5, I got my first guitar. I think around 15 was when I started playing seriously. Johan (Pais, bass, Tough on Tobacco, Helga’s Fun Castle)’s been a childhood friend. I used to go to his house, and he had this little drum machine, with which we used to jam. Then around 17 or something, Coutto moved back to Bombay and we had a band called Vicious Circle which played, like, one gig at Razz before Johan moved to the States. His neighbours were Bobby (Girish) and Sonu (Rajeev), I played with them as well – and we formed a band called Zero!

2) Why the name Zero, though?

We were taking part in Mood-I, we didn’t have a name, and Siddharth was depressed that day, and he was like, “I’m nothing but a Zero! This band is nothing but a zero!” So everyone said, “Hey, you guys are Zero” and the name stuck! That was Mood-I ‘98, our first gig, and we were horrible! Played one song, and people said, “Cool, don’t bother playing more!” and we went, “But hey! We have more songs!”

The next gig was at some college next to RAIT, a fest called Srujan or something, someone said one of the bands dropped out, and if we got there quickly, we’d get a chance to play – piled up everything into Rajeev’s little Zen. We were a 5-piece band then, with another guitarist called Karl… He didn’t show up for practice, so we went for the elims without him and realised we were much tighter, there was only one guitarist, there’s less shit to go wrong! So it’s been 4-piece thing since!

3) So… Why New Zealand?

My folks moved to New Zealand, and I didn’t wanna go because I was having too much fun here. But the deal was that I had to move there before 25 so I could qualify as a dependant child on my mom’s residency. So I had to stay there for 2 years to get permanent residency, got my thing, and before you knew it, 5 years passed, and I found a groove over there. But first I hated it, had no one to play with, was just making stuff in the garage… But then yeah, you tend to find your space.

4) So a question a lot of people are asking – are you planning to move back to India anytime?

No… What I wanna do is spend some time here, some time there, get the best of both worlds. I guess anytime I come back here, there’ll be something for me to do.

5) What exactly do you do in NZ?

There’s a recording studio. The guy who owns the place says, come record whatever you want, I’m kind of like the in-house engineer. That and freelance gigs – the odd covers. This time when I go back, I’m going to get the Blackstratblues thing started, going to play a few gigs.

6) What’s changed between Nights in Shining Karma and The New Album?

Kaan hai, sun lo! It’s a huge change - largely subconscious. In NISK the guitar was the voice - the main instrument that led every song. In TNA I’ve pulled it back a little. It’s not a guitar solo album, more like a soundscape album. The guitar was the most prominent instrument of course and always will be since it is my form of expression. But I’ve written lyrics on this album, we had electric sitar, used parlour-sized guitars for a high mandolin-like sound.

NISK was one guitar, one amp. Zorran programmed the drums, and then I played over that and it was recorded in three weeks. In TNA, I had time to write and mull over ideas, select the best… It was more natural. Like, on Ode To a Sunny Day, I had a clicktrack and an acoustic guitar that went first. Drums followed what I’d strummed, followed the dynamic which had already been set – all the other layers also fell in place the way I wanted them to.

7) Can you tell us a little bit about the non-rock work you’ve done?

I’ve recorded two Dance Masti albums – working with Ehsaan and Loy is great fun. The other stuff I played on, the Bollywood work, I haven’t a clue – firstly, I don’t care and second, when I used to play, there were no vocals and they probably moved stuff a lot after I played.

8) Do you follow the current Indie scene in India?

Not really – just caught the a gig a few days back, that’s all really. I’ve never seen Superfuzz and all these bands that came along. Heard Motherjane at I-rock, they sounded very different, obviously evolved a lot over time!

9) Things have gotten better though, audiences are asking for originals…

Bands are PLAYING originals. I’ve always said, don’t play originals apologetically. Like, “Hey guys, we’ve played you so many covers, here’s an original”. Play originals because it’s something you like, and something you wanna get across!

10) How did you come up on the Strat as YOUR guitar? Did you play a whole lot of guitars before settling on it?

I just liked the way it looked! *huge grin*. The all-black Strat I saw on that U2 video, Where The Streets have No Name – it just looked so good! My guitar was gold originally – something that your grandpa would play (Edit joke: Old man sitting on the back porch?). First time I went to Auckland, I got it painted black and it looked beautiful! And everyone who picks it up says it’s so easy to play! On the Strat I can go from the big fat Hendrix-y tone, to a more Clapton, Gary Moore (to whom Blues For Gary is dedicated, by the way) like sound.

Stay Tune for Part II..

Deepak Gopalakrishnan and Varad Wategaonkar are Zero/Warren freaks based in Bombay. One is an Old Man Sitting On a Corporate Porch, the other is Not SSJ College’s Type Of Engineering Student. Reach them at www.twitter.com/chuck_gopal and http://twitter.com/iDADDYDOODLE. Photos taken by the ultra-talented Prateek Dubey.