The seeds of Bliss Logic were planted in 2002, when Yanger’s current band mates drummer Lindsay D’Mello and bassist JD Thirumalai produced two tracks for Sleeping Buddha’s self titled debut album. “Almost a year later, JD and I met up and, over a couple of beers, decided to record a track.” said Yanger. “Lindsay also got involved and we ended up spending a couple of recording sessions holed up in his music room, furiously crafting the track that was to be ‘Spill’. The computer crashed after the last session and we ended up with a rough and unfinished mix that we had created the day earlier…that is the mix you will hear in the album. Anyway, somewhere along the line, I guess we all kinda gravitated towards writing more songs, jamming, hanging, recording, drinking, smoking, etc and four to five years later, we have The Big thaw!”

You may not find a lot of logic in the music of Bliss Logic but you will hopefully obtain a considerable amount of musical bliss. “ the tracks are just explorations of ideas, thoughts, moods, feelings… it’s intensely personal in that sense,” said Yanger. “But I’ve been told that it makes sense to a lot of people. So if it works… great.”

Yanger’s lyrics are frequently abstract, but in the hands of D’Mello and Thirumalai – two formidable names the Indian music scene – his diary entries aer transformed into the kind of dreamy, ethereal rock that you could cosy up to a rainy night but just as easily chill out to a sun-kissed summer afternoon. “The music is pretty easy listening with bursts at parts of elements of electro, drum ‘n’ bass, rock, jazz and blues, which create a mood of their own and have a subtle message of their own too, which is totally open to the listener’s perception,” said D’Mello. “We all grew up in the 80’s so you might hear a little bit of that too.”

The many contributions add an additional dimension to Bliss Logic’s distinctive sound that’s inherently mellow yet musically muscular. It’s also “indie” in the truest sense. The Big thaw is a self-produced album, something that’s enabled the group to take risks they would not have been able to do otherwise. “Being an independent effort, we have the freedom ro do what the fuck we want… nobody telling us ‘No, this solo doesn’t work etc”, says D’Mello.

The Big Thaw is one of those rare records that move seamlessly from one track to another. But the band’s members don’t believe in overanalyzing the creative process that goes into song-making. “My general philosophy is simple,” said Yanger. “Does it sound good? Does it make sense? If I fulfill these two criteria, I generally feel like I’m on the right track. Story… meaning… chords… techniques… angles… shoo shaa… it’s all shite mate.”

To get a firsthand experience of their music, catch them only on myopusradio.com

Them Clones came together in 2000 in suburban New Delhi. They consist of Prithwish (lead vocals/acoustic guitar/keys), Joseph (guitars), Gucci (guitar/vocals) Dev (drums/vocals) and Clarance (bass/vocals).

What’s with their intriguing name?
“It came about as we were looking to forge an identity as a left-of-the-middle sort of band. The name reflects the general attitude of the band which was to look at their stage personalities as clones of their selves”, they say.

Formed in 2000, they hit the road playing the college rock circuit all over India in 2001. They started off by impressing the audiences with tight covers of popular rock and grunge classics. Soon people were drawn to their clean, glimmering guitar riffs and soaring vocals. Their songs “My Life” and “Zephyretta” were instant hits, gathering fans all over the country. In 2009, Them Clones finally released their debut album “Love. Hate. Heroes.”. Once referred to as the “Chinese Democracy” of Indian rock, the album is a joint release by Counter Culture Records and EMI and is the band’s first full length studio release since the Clones came together.

Them Clones have played a number of important gigs – a famous one being on UN International Day against drugs & illicit trafficking. TV shows like The Great Indian Rock Festival and Channel [V]’s Launchpad have helped them gain an even larger audience. They have also made an appearance in a Bollywood film.

They’re not lacking when it comes to awards either. Them Clones was awarded Best Band at the JD Rock Awards twice in a row in 2006 and 2007 and were 2nd runners up at the Channel [V] AMP Big Break All Asia.

Inspired by the dramatic world of rock n’ roll and of course themselves, their tryst with songwriting has directed them across the course of the thoughtful to confessional, from the assertive to the provocative; but has been, consistently, accompanied by a tight groove or a silken melody.

To get a firsthand experience of their music, catch them only on myopusradio.com

Motherjane is music from progressive India. Spiritual, intelligent, proudly ignoring its roots and fearlessly questioning its rules.

Consisting of Suraj Mani, John Thomas, Deepu VS, Clyde D’Rozario and Baiju MD, Motherjane was formed on Jan 24th, 1996 to fill in at the ‘Pro Nite’ at the College Festival of St.Albert’s College, Cochin, as the professional band due to play dropped out. Drummer John Thomas, who was the Arts Club Secretary of the college, put together the first line-up of Motherjane consisting of Laji on vocals, Mithun on guitars, Clyde Rozario on bass and himself on drums. The band’s name originates from a variant of ‘Mary Jane’, and voices their belief that music is by far the purest drug in existence. This was also a strategy by the band to draw attention to the fact that none of the band members believe in drugs, and are against drug consumption.

After a few gigs, Laji quit the band to pursue higher studies abroad and Mithun followed suit soon. It was somewhere in 1997 that the mercurial Baiju Dharmajan was invited by John to fill in as the guitarist for a gig. John immediately took a liking to Baiju and asked him to join Motherjane. Baiju accepted his offer and the trio of Baiju, Clyde and John immediately started practicing. A temporary vocalist filled for a few gigs, and later they found Suraj. In addition, the rhythm guitar section was filled by an extremely talented Rex Vijayan, who later on became an integral part of the genre-blending band

Since then, Motherjane has been making waves in the music circuit and carving a name out for itself in the international music scene. Five Motherjane songs from their album ‘Insane biography’ got airplay on fourteen US and five Mexican Radio stations and generated a growing global fan base for them.

Their next album ‘Maktub’ has been endorsed by Rolling Stone as the No. 1 Indian album of 2008-09, by Rock Street Journal as Album of the Year 2009 and also as the Rock Album of the Year ’08-’09 at the Unwind Center Live Awards. Apart from that Motherjane has been named the Best International Rock Act at the Asian Voice Independent Music Awards 2009 (the largest Independent music awards in the world)

Motherjane has performed with several International acts like Mr. BIG, Third Eye Blind, Secondhand Serenade and MEW. They have also played with Megadeth, Ensiferum and Opeth at various festivals like Rock in India 2008, Mood-i-2008 and Saarang 2009. And they have been honored by MySpace to launch the renowned MySpace Secret Shows in India – joining the ranks of U2, Oasis, Slayer and Neil Diamond who have done similar high profile launches.

Their songs have also gotten recognition from many sources. Another feather in their cap was when, for the 1st time in Indian rock history, one of Motherjane’s songs, ‘Maya’, written by Suraj was published in the Indian Book of Chronicles alongside works of top contemporary literary greats. With their song ‘Soul Corporations’ they also become the 1st Indian Band and one among the only 3 Asian bands whose song was featured on a compilation album ‘Geki Teki Metall’.

Motherjane has not just performed but also conducted workshops for Seunheiser’s launch and Soundcraft’s Vi6 launch in India. Because of this, they have been recognized and honored as India’s 1st endorsee of World leaders in professional sound equipments.

Listed below are a few more of their significant achievements:
Baiju MD – Best guitarist (2007), Jack Daniels Rock Awards
John Thomas – Best Drummer (2008), Jack Daniels Rock Awards
Suraj Mani – Best male Vocalist (2008), Jack Daniels Rock Awards

Don’t forget to catch them all this month, only on myopusradio.com

The Blues can have roots in India.

That’s something that Soulmate truly believe in.

This talented band consists of Rudy Wallang and Tipriti ‘Tips’ Kharbangar. Rudy is one of the first singer/songwriter/blues guitar players in the country while Tips is an extremely talented vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Soulmate came together in Shillong, in February 2003, playing their first concert at the ‘Roots Festival’ at the Water Sports Complex in Umiam.

Since then the band has performed over 500 concerts in the Northeast and all over India, including The Haze Blues and Jazz Bar in Delhi, the SAARC Bands Festival in 2007, the RSJ PubRockFest in 2007 and 2008, and corporate gigs for Wills Lifestyle Fashion India Week, Airtel, etc.

They have also performed at the International Jazzmandu Festival in Kathmandu for two consecutive years, in 2004 and 2005.

The band has created history by being the first and only blues band ever to represent India (Courtesy The Blues Club of India) at the 23rd International Blues Challenge organized by The Blues Foundation of America, in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, in February 2007. They were semi-finalists and performed at The Rum Boogie Café (Blues Club of The Year) alongside 150 other bands and musicians from all over the world.

Anyone with an interest in the western music scene in India will easily recognize singer/songwriter Rudy Wallang, who leads this tight knit musical unit. Born into music, he grew up listening to his father Toto Wallang making music. Rudy gradually started singing and playing the ukulele at a very tender age, eventually graduating to the guitar. Today, Rudy has built up a long musical history in India, having also been part of the well known blues rock acts, Great Society & Mojo.

The beautiful and talented vocalist and rhythm guitarist of SOULMATE is Tipriti ‘Tips’ Kharbangar who is now one of the finest female singers to have emerged out of Shillong and India as a whole!

If there is one thing Tips is happy doing it is singing and reflecting. This she vocalizes with a joy and exuberance that is unmatched and original. She started out singing gospel songs at the local church choir and is now drawn to the Blues, Soul, Jazz and listens to Aretha Franklin, Billy Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Nina Simone and B. B. King, Van Morrison, Jimmy Hall, Susan Tedeschi.

A video of the song ‘I Am’ from their first album called ‘Shillong’ is presently broadcast on VH1. This album was voted the Most Original Album in the Blues/Rock category in the year 2005.

In June 2009, Soulmate released their second album ‘Moving On’ with Blue Frog Records in Mumbai.

When often asked by people why they chose the Blues, they always answer – “we didn’t choose the Blues…the Blues chose us!”

Soulmate would like to use their talent not only to entertain, but also to help society in whatever way they can. Their influences range from Toto Wallang, Sheila Wallang, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Buchanan, George Harrison, Albert King, B.B King, Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin to Van Morrison, Etta James, Susan Tedeschi, Johnny ‘GUITAR’ Watson, Rory Gallagher, Hank Marvin, Bob Dylan, Jack Pearson, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Jeff Beck, Allman Brothers, Jimmy Hall, Frank Zappa, Willie Dixon, Rory Block, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green, Mojo and last but not least, The Great Society!

So if you like the Blues, be sure to catch their music all this month on myopusradio.com

Indian Musicians are finally coming into their own. No matter whether they’re rock acts, electronic collectives or DJs, the quality has progressed from where it used to be. Picking up on this boom and the opportunity to make a difference to the growing independent music scene, the British Council has launched Soundpad. An ambitious new project, Soundpad explores the art of studio production in music, providing upcoming artists an opportunity to craft and chisel their music, while also giving them a platform to showcase their output.

Four bands – Medusa (Mumbai), Swarathma (Bangalore), Advaita and Indigo Children – formerly Superfuzz (Delhi) – have collaborated with legendary UK music producers John Leckie and Dan Austin, recording new material and spending time in the studio this year.
With the Soundpad project, Leckie hopes to give Indian bands an experience of how record production is done in the UK at the highest level and encourage cross pollination by allowing the musicians to work across platforms.

Advaita

The Road We Travelled
Abhishek Mathur(Advaita)

It was the evening of our third day in London and all the activity at the Westminster University was just about winding up. The four bands had been doing interviews, video shoots and other interactions with the students of the university, a great way to start the UK chapter of the Soundpad project. We had vacated our funky student’s hostel on King’s Cross in the morning as we all had to leave for Brighton this evening. All the band members were eagerly waiting for our tour buses (in which we would travel round the UK) to arrive – the rumour had spread like wild fire… these were no ordinary buses, they were special luxury vehicles equipped and furnished with all kinds of goodies.
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Suddenly there was a commotion – the buses had arrived! “My God! They’re huge!” exclaimed someone, we quickly got our stuff together and walked to the area they were parked. None of us were prepared for what we were about to see. Both buses had two floors, sleeping bunks, two lounge areas (with comfortable sofas), DVD players and flat screen TVs (both upstairs and downstairs – our driver Chalkey soon handed us his personal collection of 600 DVDs)! There was an X Box and a Playstation 3. A little kitchen upstairs comprised of a microwave, kettle and all the cutlery we would need plus two fridges – one for milk, cheese and the such, and one packed with chilled beer. There was even a little toilet. A trailer hooked to the back of the bus carried all the gear. Needless to say all of us ran around laughing like little children; I looked up to the heavens and smiled – we must have done something good to deserve this!

Soon we were off. Advaita and Medusa were on one bus while Indigo Children and Swarathama were on the other. After ‘getting to know’ the tour manager Rick (he’s been the front of house engineer for Massive Attack’s Mezzanine UK tour and Tool’s Aenima UK tour to name a few), some Floyd on the home theater and more than a few beers, it hit us – we were actually on tour! This was the stuff rock ‘n’ roll fantasies are made of!

Brighton must be one of the prettiest towns in England and our buses were parked next to the venue we were supposed to play – the awesome Concorde 2 (there is no Concorde 1 in case you’re wondering). This was a road along the beach and looking at the coastline the next morning was one of those beautiful sights that stayed with me even after all that happened in the days to come.

By the evening we were ready for our first gig. This was what we were here for. The venue manager was a really nice guy but he and his crew weren’t expecting an eight-piece band to climb on stage! Due to time constraints we didn’t get a proper sound check and before we knew it the place was filled with a charged up audience waiting for the show. It was a critical moment, and we all said our prayers and began with our opening song, Mukti. Boy, were we in for a surprise; the crowd roared with approval and we could sense the sound was fantastic outside. We grew in confidence and went on to play a solid tight set, cheered on also by our friends from Medusa and Indigo Children. Finally when we were done the audience shouted ‘more, more!’. It was a magical feeling and we played Miliha as an encore and quickly got of stage, our first show in the UK had been a hit and we were ecstatic!

From here on, the tour just got better and better. Rick and Paul were the nicest guys on Earth! They actually apologized profusely whenever there wasn’t enough time to sound check or something wasn’t quite right on stage. Here we were, an unknown band from Delhi, and these guys had worked with the biggest names in music – yet they took it upon themselves to make us feel comfortable, whatever the odds.

The tour carried on and we played gigs in Liverpool, Oxford, London and Cardiff. The show at London was another memorable one with all four bands playing in front of a packed crowd as part of the Soundpad showcase night in the presence of the great John Leckie with whom we had worked six months ago as part of this project. Each of the bands dished out super tight performances and impressed the audience. I remember feeling really proud as in a way all four bands made a statement to the people gathered – that Indian bands can do it at the highest level.

It was a whirlwind of a tour and a sad day when we finally said goodbye to Rick, Paul and our ‘magic bus’ and its driver Chalkey (another really nice bloke). But it was an experience of a lifetime and the British Council really deserves a big thank you for giving us this whiff of the rock ‘n’ roll dream, and a professionally organized tour!

Visit the British Council’s Soundpad website.
Visit the Advaita website.

Check this space for Advaita’s exclusive interview with myopusradio.com

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Swarathma

Giving Back: Swarathma’s one show for one policy
Jishnu Dasgupta, Bass guitar.

There was an experience I’d like to share, something that changed us forever. We played at Someplace Else in Kolkata this year, by all measures a successful gig. But when we decided to do something offbeat, like playing at a home for abandoned kids, we had no clue what to expect. And there was plenty on our plate that night.
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On March 1, 2009 Swarathma showed up at Child Care Home, more a fortress (with barbed wire icing on the 12 foot walls) than a home for children, and began unloading strange boxes and cases before the bemused staff. Cassini’s Division and the Supersonics generously donated stage amps and one Dolon from Gol Park did sound for the princely sum of Rs 1,600. (Yes!)

The venue was a covered terrace atop the Home, and there was no stage. But this show was about the audience: Girls from 4 to 16, picked up by cops, rescued from traffickers, children of sex workers… kids so far removed from the kids we’ve met that we wondered whether we would be able to connect to them at all.

But we needn’t have worried. From the word go, there was such an electric response that it just blew us away. It’s quite surreal to see someone in the audience, all of 6 years old, hands in the air, eyes closed with a smile that could light up a dark night like Diwali. And when you realize you have a part to play in that smile, it’s a wonderful feeling.

The fun didn’t end there. The neighbors, incensed that these children from another planet were having fun, called the police. Tense moments ensued, as they threatened to shut us down. We stripped down the sound – un-miced the kit, used just a snare and no toms, switched off the PA and played on monitors. But who cared! When the Ghodi made her entrance, there were frissons of delight that ran through the 100 odd girls. They danced like there was no tomorrow! The girls were beside themselves with joy, serving us tea and snacks with much care in the ‘afterparty’ (if we might call it that)!

That’s when we decided that for every show Swarathma does where we get paid, we will do a show for people who may not have the chance to watch a band play. That’s what we did at Naukuchiatal as well, a small hamlet near Nainital, where the villagers and boarding school kids in the area showed up in large numbers to see who these curious characters were. Of course, that show ended a bit early as there was a leopard scare in the area! I mean, we’ve heard of cops shutting the shows down, even the occasional college principal, but a leopard?

This just goes to show you that if you let go of your notions of ‘how it should be’ then there’s a tremendous amount of fun to be had – and you might even end up making a difference.

Visit the British Council’s Soundpad website.
Visit the Swarathma website.

Swarathma exclusive interview with myopusradio.com on Wednesday, 15th July. 3 – 6 PM. Tune in!

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Medusa

The final band to be featured as this month’s Big Fish, Medusa, unleashes “The Spokesperson” as the voice of the band. Specially created for Myopusradio.com, it’s the first of a kind that the band has created as an alternative to regular interviews. A track within itself, “The Spokesperson” answers all questions [except those annoying existensialist ones].

  Download this track

Medusa belongs to the new wave of Indian rock bands that fuse diverse rock and electronic influences to create a fresh and original sound. The band features Raxit Tiwari on vocals/samples, Rahul Nadkarni on guitar and Vinayak Pol on drums.
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Besides headlining shows with some of India’s most popular acts, Medusa has also cut an album (Survival of the Fittest) and their singles have been included in compilations like Great Indian Rock (2005, 2006) and STUPiDiTTiES (2007). Medusa also performed at the Eastwind Music Festival in February this year at New Delhi.

They describe themselves as people who like creating tunes together and have enough tracks inside their heads to keep them busy for a long, long time.

Visit the British Council’s Soundpad website.
Visit the Medusa website.

Check this space for Medusa’s exclusive interview with myopusradio.com

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Indigo Children

Indigo Children, formerly known as The Superfuzz, is a Delhi-based band known for its well-crafted compositions. The band has generated a buzz in the Delhi rock scene, no doubt catapulted by their success as the winners of the 2007 edition of Channel [V] Launchpad.
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Sanchal Malhar (guitars, vocals), Nikhil Rufus (bass) and Aditya Paharia (drums) first found fame playing pubs and college fests around Delhi. Their first performance as The Superfuzz was at the Great Indian Rock festival 2006, which they went on to win and brought them nationwide attention among the underground rock scene and built the foundations for a fan-base. Since then, they have been joined by Rahul Sainani on second guitars, and Sahil Mendiratta is now their drummer.

The band refrains from categorising their music, but listeners have detected traces of garage rock, indie rock, & punk, with grunge being a seminal influence during their early days.

Visit the British Council’s Soundpad website.
Visit the Indigo Children website.

Check this space for Indigo Children’s exclusive interview with myopusradio.com

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It all started when Gaurav and Tapan realized that Western dance music wasn’t connecting with them on the same emotional level as India’s own classical and folk music – so they decided to do something about it. In 1997, after several years of work setting up their own studio in New Delhi, the two producers launched the Punditz.
In a span of eight years since the first Cyber Mehfil, the Midival Punditz have become the most in-demand producers and remixers in India, with remix credits for some of the biggest Bollywood soundtracks such as the 2008 blockbusters Don & Chake De. They have shattered attendance records of some of India’s most venerable clubs such as Mumbai’s Blue Frog and have become the foremost ambassadors of India’s rapidly growing alternative and electronic music scene around the world.

As myopusradio’s Big Fish, this is Gaurav reminiscing on the early days, before the Punditz came into being. For details on their Interviews, Pictures and updates, read on. To listen to their music, go to myopusradio.com and stay locked on!


From Students to Punditz.
The story of how becoming a Pundit has nothing to do with what you study.

I’ve always had trouble writing about stuff, specially when I’m told I can write about anything I want!. So, I’ve decided to talk a bit about my journey through the music scene in our city!.

Let me take us back in time a little, to say, 1996.

I had just got into architectural college and Tapan had just started his IIT course in Delhi. We were both doing exactly as advised by our parents and elders. I guess the limited outlook of earlier generations on what we can or cannot not do with our careers tends to cast a huge shadow upon our abilities to decide what to do with our lives. We get so confused that we end up succumbing to their choices eventually. Read more