I never wished to be a music director

Be it as lead guitarist of band Avial or a composer for films such as 22 Female Kottayam and Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi, Rex Vijayan skillfully and successfully adds grunge to his music, while retaining the Malayali flavour.
Being a key member of path-breaking rock bands Mother Jane and Avial propelled Rex to compose for Mollywood, and his latest release Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi (LL7K) will be his 12th such venture.The music director tells us why he is never able to spot the faults in his own music, what he loves about performing onstage and more.
You are the one of the first composers to successfully bring in rock elements to Mollywood film music My father (Albert Vijayan) was a musician who composed for Christian devotional albums and movies. So I was always acquainted to Malayalam music because that���s what was played at home. The rock influence came in after my band outings. But I have always tried to steer clear of it in my compositions and ensured that it is closer to Malayalam style ��� be it the mood, the instrumentation or even the way of singing. I think that���s also one of the reasons why people have accepted my music.
With people accepting your style of music, did it give you more room to experiment? I have never really thought about that because it all depends on the type of project you are doing. When a director approaches me, he already has an idea of what type of music he wants for their movies. People won���t call me if they want a sufi track in their movie. So my comfort zone is guaranteed and they are also fine with whatever I experiment. However, I can���t include elements that are not part of our culture. So, it���s basically a controlled experiment.
You were part of some major bands. Is it a step down to work in the film industry? Not really. I am aware that movies are not completely about music and I don���t expect them to be, either. I came into films because directors such as Sameer Thahir and Aashiq Abu wanted that grunge sound for their films. I never made an effort from my end to be part of the movie industry and never wished to be a music director. It just happened to me. When you are part of a band, you have complete freedom to play what you want rather than consider the story and situation.
Do bands get their due nowadays, or are they forced to take up films to survive? It���s fine if you end up in films. But there are also a lot of good things happening in the independent music scene now. You have social networking and video sharing sites, and can always get your content out there.
In films, do the directors keep meddling with the music? I can never spot the faults in the music I make. I can���t pick out what���s right and wrong ��� it all sounds the same to me. So I leave it to the director, who takes the final call.
Your latest movie LL7K had you composing for Anil Radhakrishnan Menon for the third time. How was that experience? Working with him is a smooth experience. Neither he nor I feel like working when we are making music together. All three films I have done with him ��� North 24 Kaatham, Saptamashree Thaskaraha and LL7K ��� had different moods to it. In the latest, LL7K, I have tried to keep the music and sounds close to nature in terms of the instrumentation used. It���s not very trendy but has a classic feel to it.
Are our film audiences attuned to contemporary music now? There is nothing such as contemporary music. I think the most modern music is what happens when you do whatever you feel like. Currently, even vintage music will sound modern. That���s got to do with our changing sensibilities. You can���t clearly define the sound of 2015 because it could be anything.
What news about your band Avial? We are thinking about planning to a do a next project (laughs). Our friends and others have been pushing us so that got us thinking. We are still active though.
What do you love most about performing on stage? Once you go onstage, plug your guitar and start playing, you get instant feedback. That���s the best thing. You feel happy if the response is good. The duration of the performance is hardly an hour or so and after that you can chill out. It���s a different lifestyle compared to being busy inside a studio for long hours.