Post-Rock/Experimental band aswekeepsearching has been winning hearts ever since their formation in 2015. The band consists of Uddipan Sarmah, Shubham Gurung, Sambit Chatterjee and Robert Alex. Branded as one of the biggest Indie bands from contemporary India, it has performed in some of the premier music festivals such as VH1 Supersonic and NH7 Weekender.
It has previously shared the stage with international artistes like Steven Wilson and Plini. It is now gearing up to perform alongside Katy Perry and Dua Lipa as one of the opening acts of the upcoming OnePlus Music Festival.
In the lead-up to its performance at the festival, we spoke to the group about its creative process, stardom at a young age and more.
1. Are you a band based out of Ahmedabad? How did aswekeepsearching come about?
Robert: Uddipan and Shubham were living in Ahmadabad when they met and started making music together. After getting a few ideas recorded, they released the EP Growing Suspicions. Uddipan is also a promoter, and in Jan of 2015 he had put together a metal event in Ahmedabad for which he had brought down Noiseware, which Gautam (ex-aswekeepsearching, ex-Noiseware) and I are a part of, that is when we met Uddipan and Shubham for the first time. Fast forward to 2019, we're all based out of neighbouring cities Pune-Bombay.
2. How do you describe your band's journey since the release of your debut EP Growing Suspicions till now?
Robert: The journey has been an amazing rollercoaster ride. Since 2015, the band has put out 3 albums namely Khwaab, Zia and now Rooh, undergone lineup changes, toured across several cities across India, Russia and Europe, and individually we have had several life-changing events along the way. We’re very grateful for the love and support we’ve received over the years and the friends we’ve made in this time.
3. Do you feel with social media, it is easier now more than ever for Indie artistes to get the recognition they deserve?
Shubham : - It's definitely been easier than before to reach out to people and get your music out but at the same time people's attention span has been reduced drastically so it's now a challenge to get the grasp and recognition until and unless an artist is doing something way different and unique musically to represent themselves.
There is still a lot of scope and hope for upcoming indie music artists and listeners alike which has been the case for the past 4-5 years and now with the help of social media and the internet, hopefully, more and more new talent will pave the way for the indie music scene.
4. Apart from writing music in Hindi and English, you also make Assamese songs. What drove you guys to include Assamese tracks in your albums?
Shubham: We never really wrote the music keeping in mind a particular language, it just happened to be that Uddipan tried to sing something in Assamese, and it best suited that song in particular, as opposed to in any other language. So it was all part of an experimentation during the songwriting process without any restrictions.
5. How do you work out creative differences amongst the band members?
Shubham: We all have our own different personalities which most of the times go together and sometimes we do have our creative differences which has led to quite a lot of arguments and fights in the past just like any other band but we've always been able to come to a mutual understanding for the benefit and progress of us as a unit. That has been the case for us being together, in our lives in general and while we are writing music as well.
6. Are there any artistes or composers who have inspired or shaped your music in the way it is today?
Sambit: Yes, artistes who play on stage and artistes who don't even know they are artistes have inspired me a lot. I have grown up around legendary classical musicians and at the same time rural folk musicians. Each has inspired me in their way, humility at the same time honesty towards the craft and towards the art.
7. Are there any contemporary indie bands or artistes that you like?
Sambit: Yes, I am really fond of Parekh & Singh, Parvaaz, The Local Train, Soulmate, Mali, Aditi Ramesh, Skrat and so many more.
8. How do you feel about performing in the same line-up with international artistes like Katy Perry and Dua Lipa? How are you preparing for this particular concert?
Sambit: Yes, we are happy and humbled to be going up at the OnePlus Music Festival with these big artistes, but our gig will be as mad as ever. We do give less in one and more in one, we give our everything in all gigs so energy will be the same just the stage will be bigger and more people in the audience to enjoy that.
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