Indus Creed’s Zubin Balaporia talks about regrouping for ‘Mahindra I-Rock’; and talks past, present and future of rock music in India

It’s a big day. 30 years is not something that comes often. So the idea here, suggested by the team at Mahindra I-Rock, was to invite a couple of guests to play along with us — to play our songs with a couple of guests. This made the event extra special. Also, particularly in the last few years, Mahesh (Tinaiker), Uday (Benegal) and I have been focusing on trying to play with a lot of next-gen musicians because we love their vibe. We love the spirit and they bring in something completely different from what we have to add to the picture. There are three or four guests who are going to be playing with us. The rehearsals will be slotted into three days before the event itself. But of course, the preparatory work is already on and songs are playing back and forth and stuff like that. So, we’re pretty excited. It’s going to be interesting.

It's a whole mixed bag! Indus Creed was formerly known as Rock Machine. The tunes from the first album went under that name, the newer ones came out as Indus Creed. We like to do a little bit of both sides because there's a huge audience that loves the old tunes too. There's also a younger crowd that loves the newer sound. With the addition of the guests this year, we'll throw in a couple of cover tunes as well. We don't like doing cover tunes exactly the way they are. So we will reinterpret them, and give them a fresh lease on life. There will also be the guests performing their originals where we will be joining them!

I think, out of 30 editions of I-Rock, we’ve probably played in almost 25 or 26 of them. Farhad Wadia, the driving force behind this show and an old and very dear friend of mine, is still keeping the show going. He’s such an amazingly committed guy. As 19 and 20-year-olds, we used to hang out at his house, listening to and playing music. You know, living the old rock ’n’ roll dream of the ’80s and ’90s.

I’m not sure if many people know what the history behind the event is. There is a St Xavier’s College (Mumbai) Festival called Malhar. During the earlier days, it was usually held during mid-August. I think Farhad or somebody figured out, rather smartly, that Malhar ends at six o’clock and it’s right next to Rang Bhavan where all the concerts used to happen in those days. There were five or six thousand teenagers from various colleges with nothing to do after the event. They’ve been partying the whole day at the festival. So, at six o’clock they trooped out of the gates and what better way to finish your evening than by attending a rock gig right next door? So, it was a captive audience. You simply couldn’t go wrong with whatever you put on! Also, it would rain invariably at that time making it all the more exciting for those kids. We used to have a great time in those days. Many years later, Rang Bhavan sadly shut down for various political reasons. But Farhad pushed through, he moved the whole venue to somewhere in Andheri. So for a couple of years, it was held there and when he moved abroad, it stopped for a few years. But now, it’s back and we’re happy to be a part of it.

Without evolution, there is no music. Music experiences constant evolution, whatever genre it may be. If you look at rock in the ’50s and ’60s, it was very different from what it became during the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and thereafter. In that sense, if you look at the four albums we’ve released, they’re very, very different from each other. I would say the first album, Rock ’n’ Roll Renegade, had a raw rock sound to it. The Second Coming, our second album, became slightly polished. It had a more ’90s rock sound. The quality of the recording, I think, was better and the sounds were very consciously crafted in a certain way. The third album, Evolve, was a kind of rebound in that sense. We had a song like Pretty Child under our belts, which did very well. Its music video was the ninth-best in the world. Number one was Michael Jackson, number two was Madonna and three was Sting. So, to be number nine in that company was good. It kind of also gave us the idea that the use of a little bit of Indian instruments in the music could make the sound quite interesting. So, we did a little bit of experimentation there. We had a manager back then — Russel, who firmly believed that the influence of Indian sounds in our music would help us not sound typically American or European. That’s how different Evolve was. It had bansuri and sarangi. Also, a re-release of Pretty Child around the same time featured the saxophone. So, there has always been a sense of evolution present. In a way, I’m quite happy to see that the music and the legacy have been evolving constantly. We’re very lazy songwriters (smiles), so, we haven’t released anything in the past few years. But when we do, I’m sure it’ll be the next step of evolution, as it should be.

The first and foremost and most important thing, which I like to feel that we (Indus Creed) had a small role to play in, is that today, younger bands are playing their music. There are very few bands playing any cover material. The best part is that Indian audiences are accepting of that. If you look back, bands in India hardly ever played their material. All the bands were cover bands and everybody came to hear them. A band like Deep Purple, the big legacy British rock band, I think they’ve been to India probably four or five times. Bryan Adams has probably come seven times. Sting has come three or four times. Ed Sheeran played a couple of months ago. Even Coldplay’s performances are around the corner. So, India is on the international map for all these mega, big, huge artistes. They want to come here. They want to play. So, if you’re going to see Coldplay, why would you want an Indian band? Why would you go to watch an Indian band play Coldplay material? That never happened in the ’80s and ’90s. India was not on the map. From what I can remember in the ’80s, there were two major international acts — Europe, the Swedish rock band and Bon Jovi, who came in the early ’90s. Therefore, for the audience here that was thirsting for Western rock, Indian bands became a conduit. The audiences were not as receptive to the original material. But that has changed completely now.

Practically every band is playing its material. And that’s the way it should be because that’s the only way you can progress — having your voice. Also, I think when you’re experimenting with music, you have to find your sound and it has to be an honest sound. If you’re going to try and infuse elements that are not part of your DNA or your character, I don’t think it’s going to work and it’s going to show. But, if you feel that an instrument will work and there’s a legitimately honest reason for you to include it, then I think you give it a good chance for the audience to appreciate it. Also, I would encourage bands to sing in the language that they’re most comfortable in. There will be a deeper sense of conviction in what you’re singing. If you start just following trends for the heck of doing that, I don’t think it comes across honestly. Just be honest with your music and what you want to do.

There are plenty of original ideas floating around. We’re working on a new album for the last, seven or eight years. But as I said, we're very lazy guys. We write stuff and say, ‘Yeah, this is it! Now let's do this, let's do that.’ And then we go home and forget. And then when we hear it back and say, ‘Okay, it wasn't that great, let's try and do something else’.

Now, Uday has moved to Goa. I stay in South Bombay, and Mahesh stays in Borivali. So geographically, we're a little kind of split up now. That's not much of an excuse with the net today, you know, you can still write songs, and flip them around. So I think it'll kind of happen when it's meant to happen.