‘Vocals matter a lot to people’
In a country like India, where everyone seems to be rocking to the tunes of rock bands, which have popped up in large numbers, instrumental rock or ‘post rock’ as a genre hasn’t picked up much.
Instruments that are commonly associated with rock music, though the rhythm and chord progressions give it a more Celtic approach, characterize ‘post rock.’
Termed a niche genre, most musicians think Indian music lovers tend to be driven by vocals rather than instrumental music.
Opines Sharat Chandra Srivatsava, the lead singer and violinist of Mrigya, a Delhi-based instrumental band, “On the Indian music scene, it is Bollywood which sells the most. When we formed Mrigya in 1999, we were the only band who played world instrumental music. There have been times when there were no bands and just classical and cine music. People here enjoy hummable melodies with strong lyrics to back them.
“But I can see the audience changing and they have just begun to appreciate melodies between songs. Instrumental music will find its footing here soon,” he predicts on an optimistic note.
Abhijeet Namboodripad, who plays for the Kerala-based band Heretic, holds the view that those who enjoy instrumental music are either artists, musicians or those who connect to it at an intellectual level.
He continues, “For the common man, vocals are paramount. Music lovers who choose to buy instrumental music are usually those who connect to it on an intellectual level, or aspiring musicians who want to take some lessons from what they hear. Apart from this, you’ll find most of the music population listening to Metallica or Guns and Roses, which have strong vocals, easy to relate to.”
The lead singer of a band generally becomes its face and while that element is necessary in any band, it predominates in this country, feels Abhishek Mathur of Advaita, a Delhi-based fusion band.
“The Indian audience has a peculiar tendency to react to vocals. It’s a funny habit. Even those who listen to good music tend to associate bands with their lead singers. I know someone who thought Bono was called U2 and not the band itself!
“In this country there is no notion of ensemble music. I think that’s perhaps why the ‘post rock’ genre hasn’t gained much prominence,” he adds.
Venaktesh Nayak of Illuminati, a Bengaluru-based rock band, thinks western music itself has niche status here, let alone ‘post rock.’
“Compared to Bollywood music, which is right at the top, followed by traditional classical music, everything here occupies a niche, including rock music itself. If you compare the fan following for rock bands with those of Bollywood, rock wouldn’t stand a chance. When it is so niche for rock, the audience for ‘post rock’ can only get more narrowed down to a select few. There’s no other way to look at it,” he sums up.
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