Page 21 - The score

Classical/Pop roots vocally, but our musical arrangements musicians take our music forward. It would be an honour to
have elements of modern RnB/Jazz/Electronica and some experience Snarky Puppy re-interpret our songs one day!
textures inspired by the Classic Rock era. We're very excited to Maybe we can have a 'family dinner' with them too :P
share this new direction with everybody. Lyrically, it's layered
with emotions of depth and intensity. We want our listeners to Describe your perfect jam room
react and express themselves through us. The perfect jam room for us is our Plug ‘N’ Play Studios, New
Delhi. Its cozy size and inspiring vibe has led us to write all
In this ever growing scene, how do you look at the 28 of our songs. It’s got the best energy for us and we wouldn’t
independent music scene 5 years from now? change it for anything.
It’s ever evolving. Opportunities are increasing but there is
a dearth of specialized/curated performance venues. We are What personal advice would you like to give someone
forever trying to cultivate and encourage a true listening who is on the verge of choosing this path?
culture, where only quality music takes the spotlight. The pay The first thing is to master the craft. Nothing comes before
scale for independent musicians is also something that needs that. It's also got to be a one way street, if one starts pondering
to be better, a trend which is only seen amongst commercial back up/fall back options right in the beginning, then it's not
acts/celebrity bands right now. The scene could also benefit going to be a worth the struggle. It's a game of a lot of patience
from dedicated management which creates opportunities and self believe. Once you've put in the hours, it’s wait and
instead of just seeking them. We expect to see the independent watch (be prepared for a lot of waiting..)
music scene develop in smaller towns and cities. We would
also like to see more independent music featured in films. We What were the challenges you faced as a duo when you
are hoping for all this and more in the next five years. started out?
You have varied backgrounds and have also performed in The main challenge has been to get the music out there. The
internet in this regard is both a boon and a curse but we feel
different festivals and venues. Which has been your best like we’ve pushed hard enough to spread the music and we’re
so far and what makes it so special? thankful for magazines like yours who’ve taken notice and
We’ve had the honour of sharing the stage with Karsh Kale and reached out to us. Sometimes we felt that it would be nice to
his wonderful collective more than once. We also headlined feature more musicians in the live performance, so we brought
Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa with our music for a special on board Steve Peter and Aveleon Giles Vaz as the rhythm
set curated by Ranjit Barot sir. Both experiences top our section for bigger venues and festivals. Another challenge
list primarily because such reputed musicians have shown has been to drive home the thought that art doesn't exist only
incredible faith in our music. Beyond this, we've also played to make listeners feel happy and light all the time. Art has to
in the tiniest of venues with the most intimate, keen listeners. make you think and react.
Such shows restore our faith in the scene. We also have two
incredible collaborations/performances coming up in our Your influences/ inspiration in the music space
debut USA tour which should top our list for sure. It feels We do have many greats in mind, but we feel we inspire each
special to play for our international fans who motivated us to other a lot. What also adds to our process is the time of day,
keep writing music, right from the beginning. and our state of mind. But we’ve noticed that our best work
happens when we don’t mean to write anything. Beyond
How do you use technology in making music? musical knowledge and caliber, we also respect and admire
Everything from designing the sounds and textures to recording artists who are humble and down to earth. For example, we
and arranging our music, is through technology. We compose appreciate artists who thank their crew after a show, who are
the melodies organically and the essence is created on the spot approachable and encourage upcoming talent and who are
but we understand and embrace technology to capture and ready to speak their mind at all times.
present all of it. We also rely on it for our live performances.
Sometimes we joke that our Mac makes us a trio! What's the strangest thing you've heard from a fan at a
festival/ concert?
Living in an era where social media has sort of taken over "You guys are good but you should start and end your set with
the world, do you think it is important for a musician to be Bollywood music. You can do a few of your songs in the middle
on it? How do you as a band leverage the digital space? if you really need to." Another ‘fan’ tapped Anindo’s shoulder
It's important to have an online presence that keeps everyone in the middle of our performance to asked him to play ‘Happy
updated about the music and helps them connect personally. Birthday’ for his girlfriend.
But it’s important to use social media only for quality content,
not for random posts. It’s also important not to overdo it or let What's your plan for 2018? Tell us about your upcoming
it take over the musical creativity. The craft comes first. We projects
understand that unfortunately social media has become more We are releasing our third studio album next month, in March.
important than ever before but we always approach it with We have an album launch India tour planned and we’re happy
caution. Having said that, everyone reading this - Do follow us to share that we’ll be going on our first USA tour this year. We
on instagram/facebook/twitter! :D would like to extend our gratitude to each person who helped
put the tour together. We’ve also collaborated on two songs for
If there was one artist you would like to collaborate with, an upcoming album with Karsh Kale, Amaan and Ayaan Ali
who would it be and why? Bangash. And we have some more incredible collaborations
Individually we have different artists in mind (for Anindo and associations to announce very soon. So loads to look
it’s Imogen Heap, Seal and Sting; for Pavithra it’s Anoushka forward to in 2018!
Shankar, A R Rahman and Nitin Sawhney). But as Shadow Stay tuned for more!
and Light we would love to collaborate with the Vienna
Philharmonic or London Symphony Orchestra and have live The Score Magazine 19
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