Here's a 360-degree look at what the 30th edition of Mahindra I-Rock 2024 will look like!
Rock music aficionados are in for a treat this week! Mumbai will be the mecca for all rock music fanatics as the Mahindra Independence Rock (I-Rock) returns. This time around, the fest crosses the milestone of 30 years bringing in a mix of rock musicians both old and new. From legacy groups like Indus Creed, Motherjane and 13 AD to those ragin’ up the scene these last couple of years like Bloodywood, Swarathma, Parvaaz, About Us and more — it is safe to say that rock has been thriving in its various shapes and forms. Ahead of the show, we rope in 13 AD, Swarathma, About Us and Skrat to understand how they’ve adopted this year’s theme, what the audience can expect to hear from them, their opinions on the evolution of rock in the last few decades and lots more…
13AD
The iconic band is making a triumphant comeback after 28 years, promising a night of hard-hitting rock. Joining us in this preview chat is lead vocalist George Peter.
What are the rehearsal and jamming sessions looking like?
Rehearsals are going on in full swing, building up the enthusiasm to be on that stage.
What will your setlist look like?
We plan to include our personal favourites from our two albums, Ground Zero and Tough on the Streets, as well as some new material for rock music lovers.
How are you looking at channelling this year’s theme of Dirty 30 in your performance?
We’re going to go into the theme by bringing a raw, powerful vibe to our performance. Fans can expect some gritty songs here!
How do you think rock music in India has developed over the years?
The changes in rock music in India over the past few decades have just been incredible. Earlier, it was all about covering western hits, but we’ve seen a big shift in rock culture here, as some artistes started inducing Indian music and instruments into classic rock, for their material. To be honest, some of these newer bands are amazingly great at it!
Swarathma
The renowned Indian folk-rock band Swarathma is known for their unique approach to blending traditional folk music with contemporary sounds. The band members share insights into their creative process, inspirations and commitment to preserving and promoting India’s rich musical heritage.
What’s the plan for practice and jamming as the show gets closer?
Vasu Dixit (vocalist & rhythm guitarist): To be honest, we have quite a few butterflies in the collective tummy as we prepare for Mahindra Independence Rock this year. That’s because we’ve never attempted something on this scale — a massive collaborative set featuring four different artistes with varying musical styles. We have Bhayanak Maut, Parvaaz, Sidd Coutto and Sutej Singh, each of whom represents a different approach to music. We’re going through our list of songs and matching energies with the songs from our guests’ catalogues to see what would work best — covering one of their songs, featuring them on our songs, or perhaps a mash-up of both. In any case, it’s an exciting challenge as we’ve scheduled jam sessions both in Bengaluru and Mumbai.
How will you interpret the theme musically and visually?
Jishnu Dasgupta (bass guitar & vocalist): We’re thrilled that one of the pioneering music festivals in the country has hit this landmark. That thrill is bound to be channelled on stage by all the band members.
What are your thoughts on the growth and direction of rock music in India?
Varun Murali (guitarist & vocalist): I have mixed feelings about the evolution of rock music in the country. There are spurs of cool things that come up and the rest of the year it feels like maybe the popular myth statement ‘Rock is dead’ has some truth to it. Rock as a genre has been an underground movement for a very long time and it continues to be so. Rock, in India, has also evolved in a very different way, with more bands exploring music in their languages and some bands are not afraid to use elements from their cultural roots making theirmusic more unique and flavourful.
About Us
Nagaland’s About Us was established in 2019, going on to become an exciting addition to the country’s rock scene. With albums like About Us and Take A Piece establishing their strong presence in the rock scene, the band has gone on to become a fan favourite among audiences not just across the Northeast but also the rest of India.
How are you preparing for the iconic stage?
Renlamo Lotha (lead guitarist): We are all engaged in our personal and professional lives but always make time for creating music and jamming regularly. For this particular show, we are jamming extra hard. We can’t wait to rock out in front of all the beautiful people that will be there. We are so blessed to be a part of this
What will your setlist look like?
Renlamo: The setlist will bring the band’s signature experimental rock numbers with more emphasis on live audiences. We’ll be performing originals selected from both our albums and some covers.
Which bands have influenced you all as a group?
Soren Kikon (bassist): Our foray into rock music started with pioneers like Rock Machine/ Indus Creed, Agni, Parikrama and so many other g reat bands who became our inspiration.
Skrat
Chennai-based rock band Skrat’s vocalist Tapass Naresh joins this chat with us ahead of their set. We learn from them that the band is going to explore some never-before-seen angles of their music. The performance promises to be an all-round audio and visual experience.
How will rehearsals and jam sessions ramp up as the event approaches?
It’s always been a kind of, you know, dream to play at I-Rock. It was one of the first festivals that we looked up to when we started. Now, we are about 18 years old as a band and to play this festival is surreal. It feels like: wow, we kind of made it at some level. We’re going to be there to bring in some new tunes that we’ve been writing for the last few years. So, we’re looking forward to bringing a new set, which kind of opens people up to a new side of Skrat, the whole Skrat universe, so to speak.
How are you looking at channelling this year’s theme in your performance?
We’re just kind of working on the visual aesthetic of it. The music part of it is something that we’ve been confident in the past few years. But, we haven’t been able to execute that in a festival sense. That’s something that we hope to do this time and that’s what we’re excited about — portraying our characters and world, so to speak.
What significant changes have you observed in the Indian rock music scene over the years?
I think it was very easy to attach yourself to something like rock music. But what we perceived as rock music was probably what influenced a lot of us when we were younger. That evolved into various forms of fusion music or alternative music. Whether it was like Avial, Motherjane or Moksha, the history of rock has always taken the shape of whatever they interpreted as the genre. It’s the same with Skrat. Rock was probably the most accessible music for most people to connect with and take to a larger audience. I also feel that I think India is also a country that enjoys heavier music. So, we took to rock as per our sense and we did what we did with it to make it our own.