Fans of
Avial
, rejoice! A decade after cutting their immensely popular eponymous debut album, the alternative Malayali rockers from Kerala are mulling over releasing their sophomore studio offering in the coming months. Catching up with Hyderabad Times during their recent gig in the city, the four-member ensemble, which became a household name in the alternative scene with hits such as Nada Nada and Chekele in 2008, revealed that they have finished working on a single and “can’t wait for fans to hear it and watch the video”.
“You see, we are very lazy people. We take time to do things. But now, after so many years, we are finally ready,” confirms
Tony John
, the turntablist-turned-vocalist of the band who took over the vocal duties after
Anandraj Benjamin Paul
, their original frontman, parted ways with the band in 2008.
The single is their way of testing-waters before they release their full-fledged second album, says guitar player
Rex Vijayan. “It’s been sometime since we released anything in the alternative sphere and so, we want to test waters first. Ergo, the single. All these years, other than making music for movies and touring, we composed around six to seven singles. If one were to put them all together, it would be equivalent of an album. But we don’t want our fans to go through all that trouble, so we will be doing it ourselves,” adds Rex, with a chuckle.
‘Today, our focus is only
on our sound’
Avial’s first album was touted as a vernacular alternative classic by many. Comprised of songs on political and social issues with poetic
Malayalam
lyrics, it came at a time when the Indian alternative scene was going through a creative slump. But their fresh offering, they say, will be a cautious detour from the first. “Our first album was replete with social and politically-charged songs, which we think, are still relevant today. So now, in terms of subject, we have nothing new to tell the people. We are concentrating solely on our sound, which is what made us different from others and won us a fan following, 50 per cent of which is non-Malayali speaking people. The only reason they loved our music is because they loved our sound, irrespective of the language we sing in. So, logically it makes sense to concentrate on keeping that sound intact, if not improve it,” adds Rex, on a more serious note.
‘We don’t write our own lyrics as Avial’s songs are rooted in old Malyalam’
For Malayali fans though, Avial’s USP is their lyrics, which dwell heavily on the language’s rich literary heritage and are presented in a fresh avatar, gift-wrapped in rock music. But confessedly, none of the band members dabble in lyrics. Instead, they follow a rather unique method of songwriting. “We are not good at writing lyrics, honestly. Avial’s lyrics are mostly in old Malyalam and very poetic, so we have experts who are good at it are doing the job. We sit with them, tell them the subject and they translate our imagery into words,” says Tony. And whenever they are unable to explain what they want, they rely on props such as pictures. “For instance, we have this song called The Eight Song (in English). It’s about dreams. To explain to the lyricists what we have in our minds, we picked some illusionary and psychedelic pictures from the Internet to show them. After much effort, they finally understood our theme and literally translated a picture into words. And we loved it” avers Rex.
Today, Avial is keener on talking about life, time and space in their songs. When asked if that’s a sign of growing old, they laughed it off saying, “Only we are growing old, not our music. Our age is not affecting our energy on stage. On the contrary, we feel a lot more energetic on stage than before. Personally, I have started enjoying the songs we made 10 years ago recently while performing them on stage because I feel we took 10 years to perfect them,” says Rex.
‘Yes, the line-up changes did effect our music. But we are tighter and better now’
All said and done, the last fifteen years haven’t been easy for Avial. Major line-up changes during significant junctures and the consequent dip in the intensity of their live performances marred their image as an alternative rock giant and left many fans disappointed. So much so that their gigs started witnessing thin audience and social media got flooded with queries about the band’s waning fervour. But Avial today is keen on leaving all that behind and is teeming with energy to be back with a bang. “Yes, lineup changes did affect our sound. The band missed Anand’s (Anandraj Benjamin Paul) voice. He just took off to the US right before our debut album was released and it was unfortunate to lose him. You know, he suddenly left and I had to take over, so I was also under a lot of pressure. I was also a chronic smoker back then and that took a toll on my vocals. But that phase has passed and we much better and tighter now,” says Tony.
‘We have stopped composing for movies as a band’
Composing for movies and live gigs was what kept them busy all these years. But for a while now the vernacular rockers have not indulged in filmi music. And there is a valid reason behind it, they say. “You see, we take long time to finish a track. Movies, with their tight schedules, usually don’t allow us that privilege. And we don’t like to compromise with our process. So we decided not to compose for films anymore,” says Tony.
“Movies don't always need a band’s sound anyway. Composers in movies are tied by the plot and there is less room for a band to explore its potential. But whenever somebody approaches us for soundtracks and stuff, as a band, we are open to it. Money isn’t as important as satisfaction, right?” adds Rex, signing off.
Start a Conversation
Post comment