Interview by: Ajoy M Lanong
IMM: Hey guys! 27 years and Indus Creed is still rocking. How has it been?
Indus Creed: It’s been rough, smooth, fun, mad, frustrating, rewarding, real, insane and worth every bit of it.
IMM: The band needs no intro when it comes to the Indian music scene. So lets get down to busniess. Can you tell us something about your new album “Evolve”?
IC: “Evolve” took around one-and-a-half years in the making. The first leg was songwriting. I did most of the composing on this one. I’d take a song to the band and we’d build on it in the rehearsal room. After the principal architecture was done we went into the studio. That took around 6 months, after which we started the search for the right mixing engineer. Our search led us to Tim Palmer, who’s only one of the finest mix gurus in the world, having worked with the likes of Pearl Jam, U2, Tears for Fears, Porcupine Tree, Mark Knopfler, Ozzy and more. Tim did an amazing job on the album, getting our sound from the get go. We are very satisfied with this leg of our journey.
IMM: The single “Fireflies” was aired in Vh1, and I must say it’s quite a nice piece. What’s the song all about?
IC: “Fireflies” is essentially about loss, caused by a mix of fate and misunderstanding. The song was inspired by a movie script of the same name that a friend of mine had sent me to read a few years ago. The script triggered the song, which was not written for the film. Interestingly, shooting for the film was recently wrapped, so it made sense for us to ask Sabal Sheikhawat, who wrote, produced and directed the movie, to make our video. There’s a great deal of confluence happening here, which makes complete sense.
IMM: Uday, besides Indus Creed, there’s also Whirling Kalapas. How did WK happen?
IC: When I moved back to Bombay in 2008 I was keen to get back on stage even though I hadn’t moved for that purpose. So I asked my old bandmate Mahesh Tinaikar if he was interested in putting together an acoustic-ish band, just for fun. I say “acoustic-ish” as there’s no binding rule to keep it that way. But it’s the starting point. Mahesh is a fabulous acoustic guitar player; his fingerpicking style is remarkable. Plus, it’s a sound we’ve always been interested in but never had the opportunity to really explore being in a rock band. Since we had no other commitments at the time it was perfect timing. We put no agenda on it; just the desire to explore the acoustic space in ways that felt right to us.
IMM: Besides, Rock Machine aka Indus Creed aka Whirling Kalapas has performed in Shillong ample times. How does it feel every time you guys perform here?
IC: A correction here. RM aka IC is kind of right. But WK is a totally different entity. But to get to your question: We always loved playing in Shillong. It’s always had a very evolved audience who are open to various kinds of music having had an exposure to multiple forms and genres longer than most other audiences in India. That it’s also an incredibly beautiful place with wonderful people makes the whole experience amazing each time.
IMM: What can we expect from you guys for the rest of the year?
IC: 2012 is the year Indus Creed promotes “Evolve” to the max. But new songs are bound to happen on that roadtrip. But it’ll also be about taking Whirling Kalapas to new places—sonically and geographically.
IMM: Message to your fans in the Northeast?
IC: Buy Indus Creed “Evolve” and really give the album a few listens. If it’s your kind of music, you will discover new things each time within the layers. And expect to see us (Indus Creed and Whirling Kalapas) again soon—we love coming to Shillong and the rest of the northeast and will do our damndest to keep coming back. Big love to all of you!
Cheers,
Uday
