'Indie music will flourish'

John Thomas of Motherjane in a chat with BT when they performed in Bangalore
They’re the heroes of fusion rock in India as they bring elements of Carnatic classical music into some pretty heavy guitar riffs without any effort. For Kerala-based band Motherjane, their musical style is something that came to them. “The kind of music we play today just happened to us,” says John, the drummer and founding member of the band.“For an artist, it’s about evolution,” he adds.
When they came up with the idea of fusion rock — metal, really — a decade ago, the concept was almost unheard of. But the road to success has been a bumpy one for Motherjane. “When we started out, we were an all-out heavy metal band, but we lost two vocalists in two years. We were really struggling then,” says John. “That’s when Suraj joined us; he was an old friend. So now, our music stays within the parameters of rock, we aren’t metal anymore.”
Their act is just as unique as their sound, as the members of the band come on stage, faces covered in war paint, sometimes even in Kathakali masks. “That was our catchphrase — half-man and half-God,” says John, adding, “The idea behind our album Maktub was to see the god who lives in every one of us.”
Motherjane also has a new album in the works. With a new guitarist in the line up, their brand of fusion rock is going to push its boundaries a little. “Santosh will be adding a lot of world music elements to the album,” says John, “We haven’t planned how to colour it just yet, but he will weave some elements of flamenco into the music.”
They’ve also opened for acts like Megadeth and Opeth, something many bands the world over aspire to. What did they learn from the experience? “Both the bands are so professional in their approach to a concert. We need those levels of professionalism too. That’s the most important thing we learned from opening for them,” says John.
Many bands fuel their success through Bollywood by building a name for themselves in the film industry. More often than not, they change their style of music to whatever is being asked of them. Would Motherjane put their art on the line for fame? “We're open to different avenues,” replies John, “But if we have to change who we are to do so, then that’s something we’ll have to refuse.”
John also believes that the independent music scene in the country is only on the rise. “Indie music will flourish and it will have a big share of the market in a couple of years. I think the equation between Bollywood and independent music will change drastically soon,” says John.
Contributed by Darshana Ramdev