How has the three decade journey been?
Thirty-third year over and the 34 year is starting on a good note. It’s been intense but fun. Overall, it’s been great.
How has the indie music space changed all over these years?
Massively! The first big change I think came in the ’90s with Channel V and MTV, which gave the whole music space a push. Suddenly from one record company, we had a bunch of record companies. That was the era of the indie music videos and then it fell down, I think, during the 2000s. And now indie music has come back differently and occupies a larger space, with new artists coming up, making covers, thanks to SoundCloud, YouTube and other platforms who make these kind of music available to a larger audience. Everything which is non-traditional and non-film, falls into indie music.
How has Indian Ocean evolved with time?
The band has gone through personal changes. We lost Asheem (Chakravarty) in 2009, that’s when Himanshu and Tuhin joined. Susmit (Sen), another founder band member left in 2013, then Nikhil Rao came in. We went from being a primarily instrumental band to a band who does vocals as well, we bought in some new instruments. I think we became more of a hard rock band and even a little darker and complex.
You have seen the whole evolution from cassettes, CDs, to now music being streamed. What is the boon and bane of how music is consumed today?
On one hand it has become easier for musicians to put their music out there. But there is no return. Now Indians are too used to getting free music, they are not willing to pay. How does a musician make money? Playing live is the only way we can manage. There are ups and downs both involved in this structure.
How do you feel about playing in Calcutta?
We have great fun in Calcutta. We have done numerous shows here like in Presidency College, Jadavpur University, Calcutta Club, all over the place. The Calcutta audience is a great audience. Tolly Club is supposed to have a very interesting audience.
Any tips for the budding musicians?
Work hard! There are no easy rewards and no shortcuts. Try and be more yourself, don’t follow trends."
