A rock band playing a gig this week talks about how the vernacular is underserved in the indie circuit
(from left) Advait Sawant, Reagan Almedia, Akshay Redekar, Joshua Du00c3u0083u00c2u00a2u00c3u0082u00c2u0080u00c3u0082u00c2u0099Souza and Ninad Bhat, the members of Tapas
Is the indie circuit in Mumbai more westernised than in other Indian cities? It's a question that pops up in conversation with Ninad Bhat, the vocalist of a band called Tapas, which makes Hindi rock music. "I feel that Hindi rock is an untapped market in Mumbai. There are a couple of such bands that I know of. But there isn't any that has created a brand recall value. I find a lot more bands in Delhi in this segment," he says.
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His observation makes us think. Parvaaz is arguably the most noteworthy Hindi band in the country today. But it's based out of Bengaluru. Similarly, the Local Train is another vernacular act that has generated a fair amount of buzz, and operates out of Delhi. Aswekeepsearching has also made a name for itself in the recent past, and its members are originally from Ahmedabad. Even outside of Hindi, cities like Kolkata and Chennai have a bunch of bands singing in regional languages. But quoting Bhat again, there are only "a couple of such bands" in Mumbai that he knows of. And we have to go back all the way to Agnee for one that has any real "brand recall value".
Why is that, we ask him. "It may be because of Bollywood. It dominates the market so much that whenever a lay person is asked about music in general, he will think about Hindi movies. I might be shooting an arrow in the dark here, but that's what I think," Bhat tells us.
The band performs live
Nonetheless, the six members of Tapas were clear since the band's inception in 2015 that they would employ the medium of Hindi to express themselves, since that's the language they were most comfortable with. Bhat tells us that he joined the outfit after answering a Facebook ad, which guitarist Akshay Redekar had posted once he had conceptualised the group. "Akshay told us about his idea of forming a Hindi rock band, and asked us how we feel about it. We agreed, because Hindi is the language that resonates the most with us. Plus, our songs have a lot of lyrical context. So, we use Urdu and a little bit of Arabic and Persian as well. And we thought that singing in Hindi would make most sense, given what we were trying to say," Bhat shares, ahead of a gig that Tapas will play at a Lower Parel venue later this week.
This concert will involve a set of originals, some of which featured in Aarambh, the band's debut EP. Their soundscape sometimes goes beyond the parameters of straight-up rock to include a more progressive feel. "We are mainly into a contemporary sound. So, we always ensure that the music we make is modern and deep-rooted in rock elements, without its lyrical and melody aspects being compromised in the process," Bhat says.
On: August 24
At: FLYP@MTV, Trade View Building, Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Lower Parel.
Call: 8879486481
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