'People think Five8 is the average of our heights'

The first thing you ask a rock band with a peculiar name such as Five8 (words and number in that order), is how the name originated. “Some people think it’s something to do with our average height,” laughs Adhir Ghosh, the guitarist of the band. But the story doesn’t end there.
“Some think it’s because of five people in a band, but people think many things.” So, what is Five8? “It’s actually a musical term.It’s a name of a rhythm. And one of the band members came up with it, and everyone liked it, and it stuck.” Formed in Delhi University’s music base – Kirori Mal College’s Musoc in 2005 – everyone who’s clued into the DU music scene has heard of this band, which derives influences from glam rock, progressive, soul and pop music.
“All of us were in the same college, and that’s how it all really began – at the Indo-western music society. We played a lot in college, in competitions, played a lot of covers, and then decided we had to take it to the next level.” And Five8 jumped into the independent music scene in Delhi. These guys – Adhir on guitar, Aveleon on drums, Robin on vocals and Shiv on the keyboard – deal only with music. “Well, Shiv’s also a photographer on the side, but for the rest, our only profession’s music. Aveleon and Robin teach music in a school and I am a guitarist who freelances for bands.”
Is that a successful career move? Pursuing only music? “Well, for us, music is the only thing, so why try other things? I know I only want to pursue music and this is where my interest lies,” says Adhir, adding, “At the end of the day, if you look at all professions, you see that everything has a struggle, nothing is free from conflict, and nothing is perfectly stable. You’ve to achieve the stability. And in music, it’s not like you cannot sustain yourself. Nowadays the scene is really looking good, there are so many new bands in the circuit, that are playing good stuff, and there is audience for the new sound, which is a good thing. There’s a challenge to it.”
Last year in September, the band released their first self-titled EP which had six original soundtracks, and this year they plan to do more. “We used to do a lot of covers, and then we thought, ‘Enough of that, time to start with our own original work.’ So, now we’ve tied up with this place where we play live music every Friday, so that Delhiites see us as a permanent fixture, and they see more and more of us,” says Adhir, who notes that the Delhi audience’s music preferences have changed. “People love the idea, the thrill of live music. Earlier it was about covers, and the scene was more like a party culture, but now, they don’t want the done stuff. They want newer stuff, which is original. They want to hear the sound of the band. Now, the audience is always looking for more.” So, what’s on the itinerary? “There are talks about a video and our original songs later this year, till then, we want to play as much live music as possible.”
The band’s soundtrack “When It’s Tomorrow” was used for a short film on Music Basti, an NGO which helps street children in Delhi, and Five8 is all up for giving music for Bollywood flicks, given that they get to keep their sound. “Why not Bollywood? We would never say never as we’re not against it. There are so many edgy, new-age movies now that have music that extends to this domain, so you never know,” says Adhir in a promising note, as he signs off.