I would be kidding myself if I said Hyderabad’s rock or metal scene is thriving. But I speak for many when I say that we cling to the eternal hope that one fine day, it will be as good as it can get. One thing’s a given, 2011 was off to a good start. Dark Tranquility’s concert and Degradead’s brilliant supporting act rekindled an exuberance, which almost vanished, in the hearts of the city’s music aficionados. A week later, Motherjane had come to the city to play at VJIET College, performed all of our favorite songs while Santhosh Chandran, the new guitarist surprised us with his amazing solos ascertaining that he’s indeed the insanely good fit. We caught up with the band and here’s what they had to share.

Swapna: You guys have been around forever. Almost 15 years, 2 albums and 2 singles later, what does it come down to?

Suraj: We actually feel like we’ve completed our vanavasam. It’s been quite a journey and 14 years of exile later, we are still happy to be here doing what we love the most.

Swapna: It’s hard not to notice the timeline. You debuted with Insane Biography in 2002, Maktub released in 2008 and the next album’s due for a release this year. Why the long breaks between each album?

Suraj: I guess it’s mostly been due to lineup changes. After Insane Biography, Deepu replaced Rex in 2003 and after Maktub released, we spent most of our time touring and playing across and outside the country.

Swapna: I’m sure an album’s theme revolves around the band’s philosophy at the time. How has that evolved during the years? And what is the new album about?

Suraj: The first two albums have been about the band, the struggle, our experiences and what we were going through in life at that point of time. Music is one of those places where even if one person walks in, it’s going to and it probably should make a difference on what’s going to come out. So, we’re going to be in the middle of the change with the upcoming album.

Since we have a new band member, we’re finding our way around each other. I don’t think we can predict what’s going to come out but there will be a change because we’re adapting to what has happened to us and am sure that that’s going to be reflected in the music. You could either look at it and say, ‘are we going to try and get back to what was comfortable and was working’ or you could say, ‘yes, this is risky but what the hell, let’s do it.’ And I’m sure we’re going down the second road.

Swapna: Suraj, You’re a great lyricist and you maintain a variation in your song-writing. Do you think more bands should write about the positivity in life likeyou guys do rather than write about death or chaos that one may otherwise find with most metal bands?

Suraj: I, for one, find it fascinating that somebody could write so much about death. We think that every kind of music is there because somebody needs it. So, let it be. If what someone does is bringing them and happiness, they should just go ahead and do it. We’re not going to say that we’re doing something which is better than what is considered to be. In fact, we have written lyrics for a surprise death metal song as well.

John: It’s just another perspective. If you take William Blake’s work, it’s all about grotesque and the darker side of life. Sometimes that perspective is also required, you know. There’s this quote that ‘Art is all about an excuse to wake you to put you in reality’. So, that’s how we see it, not as good or bad. Everything serves the purpose.

Swapna: And among Motherjane’s works, what’d be your most heartfelt song of the lot?

Suraj: Many of these songs have actually been about our journey itself. They have sprung from our conversations, from the way we approached and overcome those obstacles you were referring to. Most of those songs are actually a way out of that and that’s why I think a lot of people somehow identify with our songs as well. I’ve heard somebody say that he feels a lot of positive energy after listening to a motherjane song. It’s not that we’ve had happy and easy lives. It’s that we’ve had hard extremely hard lives and yet, we do have the courage to be happy. Topically, the band itself is inspiring the entire approach.

When I joined the band, John said, ‘why don’t you write a song called Disillusioned because you look disillusioned’. First song that we wrote, one guy wanted it to progressive, another wanted death metal while another wanted me to growl. So, many a time the song has been a reaction to what was happening with the band.

The thing about art is that when you revisit that particular art, you’ll also revisit the feeling you had when you made it. Till now, we’ve always enjoyed the moments we had when we made it. I can’t tell you that this has been my favorite moment with it. It has been one big great moment. There is so much still happening and every new challenge makes us think that we don’t care to be comfortable. I can’t say which one is the most personal because each of them means so much.

Swapna: You’ve been touring a great deal, the band’s international exposure has been phenomenal and you’ve performed alongside legends such as Megadeath, Machine Head, Opeth, Mr. Big etc. How was the experience?

Suraj: Apart from the Java Rocking Fest where we actually played along with international acts, what’s happening today when you say we performed with some of these bands is that they’ve come to India and we’ve played with them. Most of them are very surprised at the fact that Indian Rock exists and that it exists in this form. It’s a new sound and a new concept in itself to see five Indian guys rocking and coming all the way to another country to play.

Our brand of music probably also surprises them a little. Topically what we write about might surprise them even more. I think the west is not that spiritual in many senses. Especially in rock, we have a very unique thing going. They will either like us or they might just call us different. They might not understand or appreciate what we’re saying; or they might actually go gaga over it. In our opinion, the west, whether it knows it or not, accesses its spiritual side through music since they’re not into organized religion anymore, and they still have that need to satisfy that side of their soul. I think that that’s why music is such a big thing there. If a rock star says you need peace, If Michael Jackson says we need to feed a child in Africa, they say yes, we need to hug our neighbors and we need to feed that child.

I think they need it more than us because in India, we’re already spiritually grounded. More than that, when something goes wrong, we’re not scared. We say, ‘It’s beyond my control, some higher force is going to take care of it’. But in the west, if something goes beyond their control, they don’t know where to turn and music in that sense is the most important thing that they can turn to because it is pointing to something that can’t be explained but just felt.

Swapna: Last year, almost around the same time, we were celebrating Tribes of Babel and Baiju’s birthday. How does his absence feel? Was it really, one of those many obstacles that the band couldn’t get past?

Suraj: For us, the shocks have been many. It’s just that as you become bigger, they’re more visible to the outside world. Maybe there were much bigger issues we’ve been handling when we weren’t a cynosure of everyone’s attention. We never got petrified of obstacles, problem is just something that you handle and move on. I guess, it is because of this attitude, the fact that he wanted to do something else was fine by us. When we had the final meeting, we said, ‘it’s not necessary that what you want to do is bad and what we want to do is good or vice versa. There’s nothing like that in music. If you want to do something, go do it and best of luck.’ It’s just that if four people want to go to one city and the other guy wanted to go to a different city, there’s no point getting on the same bus.

We understood that we wanted to go different ways. Till this part of journey in life, we wanted to come together, we’ve reached that place and from here, if one guy wants to go on a different trip, he’s totally entitled to. In fact, we were very lucky to get Santosh in a very short span of time. We had discussions with our record label where they said, ‘it’s ok, even if you don’t have a replacement for one year, we will still make sure that the thing is floating’. Fortunately, it only took us two months. We had to cancel a few shows but here we are.

Swapna: Santosh, you obviously have great shoes to fill but given your background, we support you all the same. You’ve known the band for a while but how does it feel to be a part of it all?

Santosh: I feel comfortable. They support a lot and we’ve become one in music.

John: We’ve played together before. Before motherjane, there was a band that played for like two months.

Suraj: I guess Santosh left 13 A.D and Deepu walked in. When I was in college, Santosh and I used to jam together. So we’ve all known each other for a long time. When Santosh came in, we told him to play the music anyway he wants. We understood that what Baiju played was awesome and it’s quite difficult to play it like that. And we liked what Sanotsh said, “I really like those leads, so am going to learn it like that. We’ll see where we go with the new songs but these old songs have their identity.” We’ll just hold onto it till the 2011 project but in the future his style will be reflected in the music.

John: He’s been playing metal for a long time, and then he played for 13 A.D and then he was playing a flamenco. So, that’ll all add to the next album,

Swapna: John, you’ve been reinventing yourself and that’s great for a fan to observe. You’ve worked with the likes of Jerry Peter. What can we expect with the new album?

John: We’re going to have a new producer, Rex Vijayan on this album, so we definitely will be working on new sounds for drums or other instruments.

Suraj: John is heavily into trance music nowadays, he might actually do something like that. Haha.

Swapna: Okay, What do you think has been the biggest trademark of Motherjane since its inception?

John: We never stuck to one genre. Rather than sticking to one kinds of music, we feel that ‘let the song decide’. It’s like cutting down resistance to change, let it flow. So, the diversity I guess.

Swapna: Are there any covert influences of Motherjane that people would be surprised to know about? I mean, If you could tour with any band, Indian and otherwise, who would it be with?

Suraj: Clyde used to like country music when we started off. John is into Trance music now. Santosh has been around and he listens to western classical.

John: I think We would like to tour with Korn and Opeth.

Suraj: Junkyard Groove, maybe.

Deepu: There are so many good bands, really. I can’t pick one.

Swapna: Last one to go. In what way do you think Motherjane’s sound has changed the most?

Suraj: That’s for you to tell. There have been people that come with an entirely different interpretation and say this is what your song means to me and I go like, ‘Oh, It can actually mean that even If I may not have written from that perspective’. It’s for the fans to decide where we are today.

Swapna: Cool. Have you started recording for the new album? Anything else you can tell us about it?

Suraj : We’ve started composing, yes. We’ve genuinely no idea about what we are going to come up with. The fans who hear the music will be as surprised as the band itself. Haha.

Swapna: Alright. Thanks a lot for your time. It’s been super great, talking to you.

Picture Courtesy : RAVI KIRAN