Don’t catergorize our music: Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean, one of the biggest Indian fusion rock acts, don’t want to be stereotyped under any genre
Having etched their names as one of India’s biggest fusion rock acts over the past two decades, Indian Ocean still doesn’t want to be categorized.
“We might derive a lot of influence from classical, folk and jazz tunes in our music, but stereotyping us as a classical folk rock band or a Sufi rock band is just limiting a band’s range,” says Susmit Sen, the band’s guitarist.
Himanshu Joshi, one of the newest members drafted in as a replacement for the late Asheem Chakravarty, adds, “To be honest, Sufi is a very abstract concept, and is used rather loosely. It involves a great amount of understanding, and we certainly don’t incorporate Sufism in our music.”
While agreeing that they derive inspiration for their songs from events that impact society, the band members believe that their focus is not purely on social issues.
“We write and sing about events in society that touch us, Bandeh, Bhor and Kaun being some examples, but we never write our songs purely with the intention of highlighting these issues. That is how our audience perceives it. Different people connect in different ways with our songs. It goes without saying that there can be no music without emotion, so emotion, be it positive or negative is the base for most of our songs,” explains Amit Kilam, percussionist.
Hailing from Delhi, how has the band been received in South India? “We have had several shows in Bangalore and Hyderabad, a few in Chennai and performed in Coimbatore for the Mahashivrathri celebrations a few years ago, and have invariably played to packed crowds. The Mahashivrathri celebrations that we were part of had an estimated crowd of well over two lakh people, of all age groups. Language is no barrier when it comes to quality music,” Susmit points out.
Talking about the launch of their latest studio album, 16/330 Khajoor Road, which has been made available for download on their website, the band members reason that they had grown tired of negotiating contracts with record companies and fighting over copyright issues.
“After having established our names in the industry for over two decades, we grew tired of being pushed around by record companies, with the middlemen making away with most of the profits and exploiting the listeners by hiking the album rates. With the Internet being the biggest medium for the younger generation and the best way forward to get instant feedback from our listeners, we decided to make all the songs downloadable for free. It is a step in the right direction,” Amit reasons.
What was their take on the performing bands and the crowd turnout at the festival in Ooty. “It is wonderful that an event of this scale was organized in such a beautiful location in a short period of time. The only disappointment has been the crowd turnout, but I’m sure more people will pour in over the weekend. There is no reason they won’t, with some top-class music being complemented by the lovely weather,” Susmit signs off.