Bandish, the seven-piece Delhi band is back with a new album. drummer chris powell and singer deepak nair tell us what makes them tick, how their sound has evolved and their musical influences
Their website states, ‘The music of Bandish is artful, intense, melodic and very rocking.’ This seven-piece band from Delhi was formed in 2005 by Chris Powell, who was earlier associated with Hindi-rock group, Euphoria. On their second album, which was released by Universal Music this month, the band has collaborated with Bollywood singer KK and international percussionist Pete Lockett. The release comes almost four years after their debut album, Kaise Kahoon.
We spoke to drummer Chris Powell and the band’s freshest member, singer Deepak Nair, in a face-to-face interview to find out about the big collaborations on their new record, the music on it and what took them so long to come out with it.
Tell us about your new album and why it took so long to come out.
Chris: This album was recorded two-and-a-half years ago but we had a few line-up changes. The album took shape a year back when Deepak Nair joined. It’d have been too much pressure for Nair, who had just come in, to do justice to what was already done.
There are a few collaborations on the album. I had known Pete Lockett and we roped him in for the title track. Lockett is one of the best percussionists and is also doing Hindustani classical. We’ve got that uniqueness of a foreigner playing Hindustani classical in the track ‘Bandish’. It is being aired as we speak. The video for this track was shot in Mukesh mills in Mumbai.
On this album, we have also collaborated with one of the top singers – KK. He brings himself out in a rock song. People have heard him in soft songs but we completely exploited his rock side. We have also collaborated with Krishna Beura. He is one of the most talented Sufi singers in Bollywood. He features on a sufi-rock track titled ‘Khuda Baksh’ and on another track called ‘Mahi’.
What inspires you to write music?
Deepak: Writing music has always been a part of me. What excites me most while writing music is the sense of melody and what the band brings forward. All the lyrics on this album have been written by S Mukhtiar and that was a challenge for me, as I had to bring more conviction.
Chris: I grew up listening to the likes of Eric Clapton on Radio Australia in Jamshedpur. We had some excellent Hindi film music in those days. There was R D Burman and Kishore Kumar on the radio, too. Those days the greatest thing was melody. As a band all of us have varied influences but when we put together the band, everyone understands the purpose and the vision.
What challenges do musicians like you face?
Chris: I know bands and musicians who are way senior and are not doing anything. Some are frustrated because of being saturated by Bollywood or because of the system or because of what they see on TV. There are challenges we have to face as musicians. Say, if you want to play in English, what is the acceptance? You’d rather quit than play. To be able to reach out to the masses, the language has to change.
Deepak: In India, being a musician is still not a mainstream option. Maybe it has become more so in the last three years. Being in music, we are doing something alternative and that is double the challenge.
What potential do you feel the Indian pop music scenario has these days?
Chris: I see potential but again I’d have to say that musicians are very egoistic. You have to drop your egos and focus on what you think is the future. Ulrich Gomes is a jazz musician, Nair is one of the best metal vocalists, our bass player, Brennon Denfer, is one of Bollywood’s most preferred session musicians. But we had to change the language. We had to stop listening to Van Halen and Megadeth and start doing music in Hindi.
Deepak: It is not about compromise. We do everything with conviction.
…and what is lacking?
Chris: Commitment.
Deepak: The effort to have that parallel pop industry. We are too dependent on Bollywood. We need to be able to say that we have pop stars in our country and people put up their posters. You know, something beyond cricket and Bollywood.
How do you plan to take your music to the people in the coming days?
Deepak: We strive to play live and that is our USP. One has to see us play live….
Chris: We did a good season last year and with the release of this album, I’m assuming we will play more shows this year.
