Amit Kilam, drummer of the popular folk-rock band Indian Ocean, speaks to Mayank Jain about what it means to be a part of one of India’s most successful and inventive indie music outfits.
Q.Your band has changed a lot over the last few years. What role does each member play in Indian Ocean now?
A. Yes, our team has changed, but the change has been gradual. Rahul Ram and I are still there. At the end of 2009, Himanshu Joshi and Tuheen Chakraborty were inducted into the band. Himanshu Joshi sings and Toheen plays the tabla. In 2013, guitarist Susmit Sen left, and his replacement, Nikhil Rao, joined the band.
Q. Indian Ocean is known for its protest music. What do you have to say about this genre that is picking up in India these days?
A. Yes, but we don’t create music keeping these things in mind. We create music as per our mood and our inner calling. As you know, various ideas and colours play vital roles in an individual’s life—the same goes with music. Some people find a spiritual dimension in our music, some look for protest sensibilities and some appreciate its folk touch… Music is like an ocean, people can choose what they like.
Q. How do you create music, knowing that people look for certain elements in your songs? Do you plan by setting a goal?
A. We don’t set any goal. In our band, everyone comes from different backgrounds and has a distinct taste in music. But one thing is common among us—our fondness for folk music. So even when we play modern instruments like the bass guitar or the drums, that folk touch still seeps in. Some people say that there is Africanism in our music, but we never tried to create Africa-inspired music. Since we have been listening to folk music, it subconsciously influences our songs.
Q. At the time your band started out on its journey, many competing bands, like Euphoria, were popular among youths. But those bands have now all but disappeared. What do you think is working for Indian Ocean? How is it still going strong?
A. There are many reasons for that. First is the willingness of all band members to create good music. We believe our band ought not to create music only for the market. Second, we are trying to adapt with the changes in audiences’ preferences. In the 1990s, people wanted to listen to only cover music. Then, after 2000, people were looking for new music. So we keep on innovating, so that our songs resonate with our audience. I will give the credit for our success to our loyal listeners, who love our music; and to the band members, who never give in to market pressures.
Q. Your band fuses different styles and genres, and your music incorporates many regional sounds, from states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Have you also tried expanding your reach to South Indian music?
A. Yes, it is true that our music is dominated by North Indian flavours, because all members of Indian Ocean belong to North India or are from the central part of India. So it is obvious that our music would reflect what we were listening to while growing up. I personally like South Indian music and we constantly try including the South Indian touch in our songs as well. We have created a few songs influenced by South Indian music. But it is also true that we have not done much work on that style. A new member in our band, Nikhil Rao is from Andhra Pradesh. So his taste in music is influenced by South Indian forms. In the near future, you will more South Indian influences in our songs.
Q. How do you respond to those who say that Indian Ocean is distorting folk music by recreating and reinventing it?
A. You cannot make everyone happy and we never try to do so. We create music for ourselves and we assume that if we like a particular kind of music our audience would like it too, which has been happening so far.
In my opinion, it is wrong to assume that folk music will die if we change some of its streams to create something new. It is a totally elitist idea, to say that all the streams of folk and classical music should be continued as they were, say 300 years ago. Everything is changing. If folk art doesn’t change, it will die. If somebody says everything should be pure, I’d say to them that it is not possible; nothing is pure. Even our beautiful classical music was a result of this impurity—it is created out of various folk traditions.
It is good for music that it keeps changing. It is also true that, out of this change some very bad music will be created and some good musicians would go out of public memory. Every art form changes like that. Changing with time is what saves music from dying.
Q. Folk music also stresses upon the art of storytelling, and Indian Ocean has created many songs that tell stories. How do you view the role of storytelling in music?
A. We don’t look for telling a story through our music all the time, but the lyrics of all songs say something—it can be a story, a message or a prayer. For example, the song “Bhor” is saying something through a story of a bird, while the song “Ma Rewa” is a devotional song a bhajan, which is not exactly a story but has the imagery of Narmada. And our work is mostly limited to music, while the lyrics are the work of a writer. It all depends on how the lyricist perceives our music. Most of the our songs have been written by Sanjeev Sharma and some have been written by Piyush Mishra and Varun Grover. If you find stories in our music, all credit goes to these lyricists.
Q. What are your next projects?
A. Our next album is almost ready, in which we have two songs we have done in collaboration. One, with the South Indian percussionist Pandit Vikku Vinayak, who has been associated with the band Shakti. With him we have created a song based on Kabir’s dohas [couplets]. Another is with the American saxophone player from California, George Brooks, who is famous for combining jazz and Indian classical music. With him we have created a song on environment. We have four-five such songs on that album, but we can’t say right now when and how it will be released.