Indian Ocean On Tour in U.S.

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I saw a group called Indian Ocean last night at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia — and they rocked. indian ocean onstage-left.jpg I’ll review the concert in some more detail below, but before going any further I wanted to mention that they are doing a small North American tour right now. Upcoming venues include Stamford, Connecticut, Chicago (this weekend), New York (early next week), Houston, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and Missisauga, Canada. If you live in one of those cities, go buy tickets!

Indian Ocean are based in Delhi, and have been together since the early 1990s. Though they’ve flirted with crossover commercial success, the band has built up a devoted underground following without selling out to the demands of the market. (The audience at last night’s concert seemed to know all of their songs.) They play a unique style of music that fundamentally defies categorization. A phrase on the Indian Ocean Wikipedia site takes a stab at it: “Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution.” Another phrase they use is, “organic fusion.” Whatever it is, it works. indian ocean onstage right.jpg What I liked most about the band’s performance last night was the sense of personality each of the four musicians brought to the table. They work together quite well as a band, but they are also highly individualized players, each quite different from the others. Indian Ocean isn’t quite a jazz band, where one often gets the feeing that the players are “putting in time” until they get to do a solo. And it’s also not really a rock or pop band either, where the lead singer dominates and the musicians are for the most part subject to the demands of the song. In Indian Ocean, three of the four band members sing, and no one seems quite to be the “band leader” (the standout vocally is Asheem, who plays tabla, and sings for the most part sitting down). There is no generic formula for how these four very expressive and distinctive musicians create harmonious — and yet improvisational — music; they simply seem to know what to do.

There is a hardcore musicians’ interview at All About Jazz, but some of what Susmit Sen talks about there goes over my head. For the lay, non-Jazzhead reader, the best description of who Indian Ocean are and what they’re up to musically is probably this article in the sadly-defunct magazine SAMAR. First, let’s tackle the fusion question:

At a time in which the “fusion” label has been rendered meaningless, the band vehemently asserts that about the only things fused about them are their brains. According to them, fusion is a band like Shakti — great people trained in completely different styles who come together. “We are uneducated technically” they say, “and are representative of a modern Indian urban setting where one is exposed to all sorts of music from day one. So lets say the fusion, if any, has happened in our head. And the influences are every single thing you have ever heard — rock, western pop, Indipop, classical, ghazal and qawwali, and a hundred different types of Indian folk music…”

Susmit’s distinctive guitar style based on intricate Hindustani classical scales has been a founding influence along with Asheem’s soul riveting voice and imaginative layering of rhythms on the tabla tarang (a set of tablas tuned to different notes). Meanwhile, Rahul’s deep brooding basslines syncopated to Amit’s intelligently improvised drumming provides the essential backbone to the group’s sounds. The rhythms employed are not the regular 4×4 rock beats, but the more leisurely 8ths, 12ths and 16ths frequently employed in traditional music from the subcontinent. These longer cycle patterns allow for more improvisation, and force drummers to not just play in beat but also keep with the flow and the roundness of rhythm. “A good tabla player will fill every single crack and do it differently each time” says Asheem, “you’re using fingers not sticks, so you can do a lot more stuff.” (link)

Fusion here is not an attempt to make traditional music hip or fashionable, nor is it an attempt to keep some element of “Indianness” in pop music. With Indian Ocean, it’s something entirely different. They acknowledge that they are part of the “Indipop” movement that started in the mid-1990s, to describe popular music that wasn’t written for films. But while most Indipop ended up getting drawn into the Indian film industry (witness the demise of Lucky Ali), Indian Ocean seems to have gotten more deeply invested in “roots.” They have matured and grown more proficient, while their filmi counterparts have seemingly withered.

The SAMAR article also has some details on the content of Indian Ocean’s songs:

From “Hille Le Jhagjhor Duniya,” based on a poem written by a Bihari revolutionary poet called Gorakh Pande, which urges its audience to throw away the old order and replace it with the new, to “Ma Reva,” a eulogy to the Narmada river, a tune Rahul learnt from local communities engaged in the struggle for self determination against the large, ecologically unfriendly Sardar Sarovar dam, to “Kandisa,” a soul stirring 2nd century Aramaic mass that used to be sung by the Syrian Christian community in Kerala. But even though they borrow freely, Indian Ocean distance themselves from others who use copyright laws to exploit folk music. “These songs belong to everybody,” they claim, “and more specifically to the people who sing them. How can anything that has been sung for hundreds of years be anybody’s copyright?”

My favorite song from last night’s performance was also derived from the folk tradition — Kabir’s “Jhini”.

Since this is a Youtube age, I should point out that the music video for “Jhini” is viewable here. It’s not the greatest music video ever, but you can get a sense of who these guys are musically from it. There’s also a video that seems to have been shot on a cell phone at a live concert in Mumbai; it gives you somewhat of a sense of what they are like live.

A couple more links:

A decription of the band and the musicians at a U-Minn website

Another article at AllAboutJazz

25 thoughts on “Indian Ocean On Tour in U.S.”

  1. Fitting tribute to a great band!

    Although I appreciate Sen’s modesty, I have to say that the fact that he’s not a trained musician shows — his playing sometimes seems a little uncertain. For example, listening to a musician like Prasanna is a far more engaging — Sen’s playing usually wanders off on tangents, leaves ideas unexplored and usually sounds best only when he’s playing off the rhythm section. He always leaves me a bit confused, whereas Prasanna is at least clear even when complex.

    As to the more technical aspects of the interview — tuning the guitar down is a common technique, sometimes used to allow a vocalist to remain in a more comfortable range. Sen also says that it’s easier on his fingers, which means that bending the strings (a common technique in Indian Classical music) becomes much easier.

    My favourite album – Kandisa, especially the tracks Khajuraho, Ma Reva and Kandisa.

    Rock Machin aka Indus Creed aka Alms for Shanthi is also another great Indian band. They’ve gone through a vast transformation over the years, starting as a pretty run of the mill rock band in pre-lib India and gradually moving towards more of a traiditonal sound (like IO) as the country’s media became globalized and some band members even moved to the US.

  2. Amardeep,

    Thanks for the review. I have been a fan of Indian Ocean’s music ever since I heard them play at the Smithsonian’s Silk Road Festival, way back in 2002. This is what I blogged about them recently. And for the Mutineers, here are some links where their unique concoction can be heard:

    Music video of Jhini Music for the movie Black Friday Music from one of their CDs Kandisa

  3. Right on, Badmash! Rock Machine have come a long way from yearning-to-be-hip to mature stuff like ‘Pretty Child’ & ‘I wish I were a Whale’. As for Prasanna, I hope some mutineers will consider checking him out on his latest US tour. Will post details in the Events section. He be awesome!

  4. Sashi, thanks for the links. I had the Youtube video to Jhini in my post, but not the MusicIndiaOnline links. They played some of the Black Friday songs last night, and they were quite good (especially “Rukh Ja Ae Bande”).

    And Badmash, one of the pluses of not being technically trained is that there is less of a temptation to grandstand with long solos. The solos that Indian Ocean does are generally shorter and less show-offy than I’ve seen with American jazz and fusion bands. IO are having fun with solos, not so much showing off.

    I haven’t heard Indus Creed/Rock Machine, though I remember seeing the name Indus Creed thrown around in the late 90s a bit.

  5. Thanks Amardeep.

    Some other Indian rock/fusion bands around are Agni, Euphoria, Indus Creed and Parikrama. They regularly play at college fests all over India.

  8. Oh these guys are great. Wonderful music. Check their track ‘Kaun’ from album Desert rain. The have played a number of times in Delhi – One of those obscure farmhouse concerts. Hearing them live is a different experience all together. Not quite the traditional fusion band like shakti where different forms of music come together.. These guys are simply playing something that is native to urban indian setting. AND they are playing in Toronto sometime soon.. Too bad I will miss them.. Ugggghhhhaahh

  9. Been listening to IO for many years now. They’re terrific. Another good alternative group used to be “Silk Route”. But I haven’t heard much of them for some time.

    You wrote: “witness the demise of Lucky Ali” – that’s because the bugger could not sing.

  10. Am I a geek for being disappointed this wasn’t a post about a traveling acquarium exhibit? I really thought this was going to be an science-post with pictures of wacky creatures. 😉

    As always, thanks for the tip, Amardeep! One of these days I’m going to have to just sit down with the music section of the blog and download like a maniac. 🙂

  11. One of the finest Indian fusion bands I’ve come across is a Delhi based band called “Mrigya”. Was completely blown away by their performance in CEPT, Ahmedabad. Their music is an amazing blend of jazz, blues, funk, indian classical, rock, etc. They’ve won a few awards as well. A review of the band can be read here. Three tracks from their album Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam were available on their website but seem to be down at the moment. So here is an alterna-link. Tracks included:

    Ganga Pahari Funk Rock The Raag

  12. Agree with Badmash. I had the pleasure of hosting Prasanna and a great impromptu band (Prasanna told me that it was the first time they’d played together!) in Providence for India Independence Day. We had it on August 12, at Waterplace Park during a full Waterfire with a huge mixed desi/non-desi crowd. The clear standouts in the band were the rhythm section with Lyndon Rochelle on drums and Mali on mridangam. Prasanna was sublime, flitting between rock guitar-god, to classical Carnaticist, to soothing jazz noodler, all the time maintaining the listenerÂ’s interest with his sheer energy.

    I do wish Prassana would hook up with a stronger male vocalist to supplement his wife Shalini’s vocals. I’m reminded of how compelling Jeff Beck could be with a strong vocalist. (By contrast, last year we had Karyshma, who took one look at the mainly desi crowed and hewed to a more indian line, mixing it up with an odd english ghazal, and the usual compelling vocals by Falu)

    Any other bands that you guys would recommend checking out (already thinking of next year)?

  13. Ken,

    Just heard Mrigya. Thanks for the tip. They seem like a cross between L.Subramaniam and Divvya (the Bombay based jazz-fusion band of the 1990s comprising of Dinsha Sanjana/Roy Venkatraman/Fazal Qureshi (son of Allah Rakha) and a [then] unknown singer called Shankar Mahadevan). Nice.

  14. YESSSSSSSSS!!! Finally, something good is goin’ on at the University of Texas at Arlington!!! me soo excited! =D

  15. Does anyone have more firm information on their Chicago show? The link doesn’t list a time, and they aren’t in the Reader this week. And Schaumburg High School auditorium isn’t, um, a regular venue for world music.

    Still, I’d love to catch ’em if anyone knows anything.

  17. Indian Ocean’s DFW show is Sunday, Aug. 27 at 5:30, at the Lone Star Auditorium at UT-Arlington. Tickets are $20-35 in advance and $25-45 at the door. My friend and singing partner Sameer’s band Masum is opening for them. If anyone’s going to this show, drop me an email and we’ll meet up afterwards 😀

  20. Mahesh, thanks. The most helpful thing in that interview for me is the fact that they’re on Itunes under “World Music.” I hadn’t bothered to check (Itunes is pretty disappointing vis a vis Indian music).

    And Siddhartha — I’m listening to the performance/interview now. Cool! (BTW Is there any chance that my little blog post had anything to do with the scheduling of this interview w/Anthony DeCurtis? Somehow I doubt it, but I was just wondering.)

  21. (BTW Is there any chance that my little blog post had anything to do with the scheduling of this interview w/Anthony DeCurtis? Somehow I doubt it, but I was just wondering.)

    naah, they were already scheduled, neither you nor i had much to do with it… but your Amens certainly don’t hurt! the great Sree Sreenivasan is a big fan too…

  22. I attended their show yesterday in Phoenix. According to me, the highlights of the show wer “Hiley Rey”, “Ma Reva” and “Kandisa”. The audience (me and my buddies included) loved them. At the end of the show, I ended up talking with them. Great guys!

  23. we had a show in our college BITS-PILANI (INDIA).That was during our cultural fest called OASIS..It was a great experiance for me to see them live..But it was very short since their drummer Amit Kilam was very weak.He was discharjed from the hospital just the day before.They played around 5 songs.The whole auditorium was on their feet with their hands together clapping when they were playing the final song “Rukhjare Bande”…I really enjoyed that day and it was really memorable for me…Thanks INDIAN OCEAN…

  25. Indian Ocean will b ein Austin, TX August 19th, 2007. Tix available on http://www.sulekha.com. People in and around Austin/San Antonio and Houston, don’t miss this show. These guys are Indias fab 4!!!