The Score Magazine March 2023 issue ft Ricky Kej March 2023 issue | Page 17

In all honesty , why do you think people like your music when you ’ ve swerved so decidedly away from the mainstream ? Whether the music becomes mainstream or not is out of our control . We pick the songs we release based on whether we like them or not . What possibly gives us an edge is that between the five of us we have a wide spectrum of taste in music which goes beyond just mainstream and subconsciously penetrates our music making process .
What ’ s the biggest challenge you face in continuing to be a band ? Listeners ’ expectations , interpersonal differences , lack of adequate coffee / whisky ? Mostly the biggest challenges are to do with managing our schedules and other logistics . In terms of artistic vision , we all dwell in the same realm .
Now that you can be considered to have “ made it ”, are there any parts you miss from when you were starting out ? We have high ambitions so we wouldn ’ t really say we ’ ve made it yet . And no , we don ’ t miss not having any money and playing on bad sound systems . Our drummer does miss playing metal music .
Can you take us through the creative funnel of a song - from idea to composition to production to release ? We have ideas and song clouds which we all bring forth and then work on its composition by playing together and recording in different spaces . Then we start determining which songs to take forward which is often inspired by other ideas like audio production , videos and overall aesthetic which we want to portray through our work .
Are there songs you ’ ve fully composed , then hated and refused to release ?
Yes there are many which haven ’ t seen the light of day . Often times a completed song might not make sense in the overall context of an album . Or we might like the idea but the production might not work . Other times a song which didn ’ t make sense initially might end up in an album in the later stage .
Is it easier to make music when you are content , or is it the other way around ? It ’ s not easy to make music period . It ’ s a mix of both , many things need to line up in order for a song to come to completion . It ’ s more about sustaining the creative zone regardless of whether or not we are content . Both aspects lend different elements to our music .
Is there any new material on the way ? Yes we are working on our next album . We have written a bunch of songs and are now in the process of recording and tying it all together .
Have you been composing for any films / shows yet ? How has that been ? How is composing for a visual story different from composing for an album ? Yea we worked on a couple recently ( not all of which have seen the light of the day ). It ’ s interesting at times but it can also be mechanical .
Adhering to generic commercial standards generally doesn ’ t work out for us . Composing for commissioned work is more cue based and it really depends on the people we are working with and if our visions align .
Mostly this work doesn ’ t require lyrics and singing so it ’ s more to do with making music as opposed to writing a song . When it comes to our own music , we often get visual ideas while writing the song so it ’ s not all that different .
What ’ s a question your wish people would stop asking ? What ’ s the genre of your band ? What inspires you ?
Any signs of being jaded yet ? Or is there still some optimism going on ? There are good days and bad days . Optimism is not really essential to making music at this point .
With an expanding fanbase , do you feel the need to manage your image these days ? Yes we are in fact looking for a GenZ image consultant . Brands , please do get in touch .
Is it harder to write happy songs or sad songs ? We are happy writing sad songs . We are happy writing happy songs . We are sad writing no songs . We feel this is a reductionist way of approaching songwriting , our songs have more complex themes than just happy & sad .
Do you ever feel blocked ? Are there activities that act as creative unblockers ? Yes , we do have periods of creative blocks . Sometimes we take space from writing and recording . The good thing about being in a band is that if one person is having a creative block then someone else might take the lead . We try to have sleepovers .
How often do you miss alone time ? Generally , we do understand the value of solitude in creative processes . So , we are okay with taking alone time when needed .
16 . Advice for getting through the day in 2023 ? We have hidden the answer in our albums . You should be able to find it out after 11 repeated listenings of them .
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