AIRBORNE is a New Delhi based  funk , alternative oriented rock band. Coming from different musical background AIRBORNE is one of the finest up and coming rock bands of India. I met them in my ‘invisible mode’ and man ! they are a fun gang ! Without further delays lets hear from them .
( Picture Courtesy Gary Steele )

.    Why the name AIRBORNE ?

Aditya - When we were still a rather new band, there was this one particular kid who was sitting around in the Jam room at one of our sessions and he was like – “Airborne suits you guys!” It had a nice vibe, so we stuck to it. As for the kid, he was kind of our first fan and still remains a fan.

· Could you please introduce band members and the Instruments they play?

Gary -  On Lead Vocals we have Ayush Malik, then Ashish Sharma on Bass, and the two founding members - Sukrit Chowdhry on Drums & Backing Vocals and Aditya Mauskar on Guitars and Lead Vocals. I am just a mere spectator when it comes to the music, other than that I also spell-check Aditya and manage the band .
( Picture Courtesy Gary Steel )

· What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Sukrit – Well, we guys have a varied influence and that is what is defines Airborne’s sound. Which is pretty unique in its own way.

Gary – Yea, I agree with Sukrit, in a land and era where most of the bands wants to play heavier and faster, we actually make it a point to stick to the Airborne sound which is pre-dominantly Funk with a bit of ole skool rock ‘n’ roll spirit blended in.
Aditya – As far as our influences go – It’s all mixed up man! Ayush has a major blues and classic rock influence – He’s into the likes of Pink Floyd ,Deep Purple and The Who, Sukrit here, listens to a lot of Nirvana, U2, Kiss, RHCP and Metallica. Ashish is pretty much into Nu-Metal, bands in the lines of Incubus and Limp Bizkit though he does listen to a bit of Guns n’ Roses, Ugly Kid Joe, Pearl Jam, and RHCP and I listen to lot of  Extreme, Dramagods, Mourning Widows, G ‘n’ R, RHCP but my major influence is Nuno Bettencourt – I consider him a god above all.

Gary – (Laughs) Yes, I totally agree to the fact that Aditya considers him a god, he actually makes it a point to dedicate a track to him every show. And yea, RHCP is one band that we all worship day in and day out.

· When did you form your band?

Sukrit – Aditya and me used to play for other bands – Nomads and Fudge respectively. At SPA we were competing against each other, a few days later we met a local music store and Aditya and me decided to meet up and jam. We did, and as they rest is history.

Gary – Not really history, we’ve always had a problem with the bassist so much so at one point of time we actually decided to pick up a session bassist for each show we played. But you know, it’s great to have Ashish in the band with his versatility when it comes to playing bass. And then all three of us know Ashish from earlier, Aditya and Sukrit studied with him and I managed his earlier project (Identity Krysis).
( Picture Courtesy Gary Steele )

· Pardon me , but you guys are relatively new to the Indie scene, Where have you performed recently ?

Gary – Yes, we guys are actually pretty new to the scene as Airborne. However, all said and done we guys have been on the scene for the last seven odd years. I mean Sukrit, Ashish and Aditya each used to play for Fudge, Identity Krysis and Nomads respectively, Ayush has been a sound engineer for the last four odd years, in fact he was the one responsible for the Jack Daniels Build-up gigs in it’s first year. And I have been managing bands, doing live events, and writing for a million web zines on the local scene for the last eight odd years. So the experience is there, as Airborne – yes! We’re new to Indie scene and it feels good!

Oh! And War Dog – Yes! You’re Pardoned (Smiles)

· Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?

Aditya – See, we as Airborne make it a point to play a shit load of Originals, in fact we always keep it down to a ratio of 4:1 literally. We do play covers, but if given a chance we don’t!  As far as a set play-list, we don’t like curtailing ourselves to one particular play list – that would make us a boring ass band! So we mix it up!

Gary – Yes, I love bands doing covers as long as the covers sound good. For example we have a remixed version of the White Stripes – Seven Nation Army, the music is Seven Nation Army but the lyrics are The Ramones’ – I believe in Miracles. So Yea, if it sounds good, we play it. And as far as the set play list goes – Well, we are an entertainment unit, you do the same thing over and over again, 7 out of 10 people will get bored at some point of time.

Sukrit – Yeah! We keep it fresh!

· What is the theme of your songs? And who writes the ‘Airborne’ songs?

Aditya - The Theme varies from song to song, it depends on a lot of things like the smallest example is that it all depends on who is writing that particular song. As far as the writing goes – most of the songs are usually guitar riffs that Sukrit and me chip in and make it a song. Sukrit actually adds a lot of lyrical inputs to songs. However, all said and done at the end of the Ashish and Ayush also come in with their inputs and it becomes an Airborne Track.

Sukrit – Yeah! And that’s what matters to us at the end of the day – An Airborne track that sounds like Airborne.

· Do you guys rehearse often ? What are the jam sessions like?

Aditya – We rehearse every week, and it turns out to be a very fun and creative session.

· How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

Gary - It has evolved and evolved a in very big way, the thing with being in a band or rather from what I have seen while managing bands in the past, Airborne included – is that a band evolves on a continuous motion. So, I’d say – ten years down the road we’ll still be evolving. How it has evolved – well, in the start we wanted to be a hardcore funk band, which did not quite work out, so we starting infusing a bit of hard rock in to the sound. So now, what was a funk band is now well I like calling it a “funk band with a bit of hard rock sprinkled with shades of punk”.

· What has been your biggest challenge as a band?

Gary - There is no one particular challenge as a band,  it’s just the regular band issues that we face, in the lines of where do we jam, blah blah. However, all said and done – I owe it to Sukrit and Aditya for keeping the band together even when times were rough.

· You guys are recording for an album , when it is due , could you tell us more about it ?

Sukrit - Yes, you’re right! We are recording for an album. Should be recording the final track in the first week of May. Then we re-master and release by the end of June.

Gary – The album launch should be fun, we’re deciding a few fun things to go along with the album launch. The spirit being Ole-Skool!

( Picture Courtesy Gary Steele )

· Do you have a record Label or DIY ( Do it yourself )?

Gary – We don’t have a record label as of now, so any one interested in our music let us know man! However, all said and done we have always believed in a certain sense of DIY ethics.

· What is the Ultimate Direction for AIRBORNE , How far do you see from here ?

Aditya – Airborne has always strived to be a band with a sound that is unique, to an extent that every track of ours ends up kicking ass in it’s own little way.

Sukrit – Another aim for us, is to be cult band, we take a lot of pride when we say; Airborne sounds different.

Gary – Yeah, I agree with the two of them, in any aspect of life – be it cooking or playing in a band, being a little different is always a game thing to do and that makes for a pretty good direction to head in. Though, it goes without saying that being different is all good, it also has to be result bearing. So I would say in, a nut-shell – Airborne has the potential, sounds different, and well we’ve proved some of our critiques wrong in the past and we hope to keep being a thorn in their side for a long time to come… a very long time!
( Picture Courtesy Gary Steele )

· Where can we listen to your Music ? Do you have a Website ?

Gary – You guys can log on to our MYSPACE to listen to our music. You could also support us on our Facebook , Our Official Blog, Garageband, Pure Volume and Reverbnation.

· Any last Words?

Gary – We are on the look-out for serious groupies! (smiles)… But on a  more serious note; I’d like to thank each and every one who has supported us through the bad times as well as the good times. Cafe Morrisons – for giving us a stage when we needed it, Bharat Music House – for being the meeting spot for Sukrit and Aditya. Nuno Bettencourt – for being the idol of worship for Aditya. Sukrit – well for being a drummer, Ayush – for handling and straightening out a lot of sound issues and Ashish – for being one of the most under-rated bassists in India. Also, last but not least – I’d like to thank people like you for standing behind the rock scene man! Kudos to you guys. Buy our album when it releases!

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