The Goan: Is rock dead?
Ashyar Balsara: No, not at all. At the moment it may not be 'Gen-Pop' but I think all these trends are cyclic and it will come back, maybe not as big as the late 60s or 70s but at some point people will get fed up of overly-synthesised artificial music.
TG: What are the bands that EP has been influenced by?
AB: All of us as individuals have been influenced by a vast variety of bands and musicians which defines our music. Though mostly it would range from rock and metal bands from the 60s, 70s and 80s, we each also do have our alternative tastes. For example, I really enjoy Western Classical music.
TG: What’s a young band, that grew up in the 2000s, doing playing music that harks back to early Metallica, Maiden and other 80s and early 90s metal?
AB: We play what we enjoy. I guess we feel the impact of what we play and we love it. All of us have grown up listening to this music be it from elder siblings or friends and hence can connect to it. Today with the ostracism of this type of music, it pushes us further to be better so that people who are not exposed to such music can further discover the music that we have been influenced by.
TG: You are now representing Goa at Hard Rock Rising. Is that a weight on your shoulders?
AB: We are very grateful that we were chosen to represent Goa for this particular competition, however in terms of bearing responsibility we would do that anyway with or without a competition. I think what’s most important is that as much as we thoroughly enjoy what we do, we are also very serious about making sure we not only put out quality music but also give the audience an overall experience.
TG: The original music movement is Goa is in its nascent stage. Why do you think it’s so?
AB: Most of our audiences are tourists who have come for a holiday etc. Their primary intention is just to enjoy themselves and are not really 'looking' for new music, hence when you play covers they can identify with it, sing along and have a good time. I personally don't think there’s anything wrong with that, which is why we continue to play covers along with our original music. In a way over the years the audience has identified our style through the way we play our covers and hence been more comfortable and receptive to our original music.
I also feel the movement of original music in other cities may have also gone a bit too far. What happens when a brand new band forms and says, "We will only play our original music"? Yes, if they are all established and really good musicians then no problem. For those who are just starting out there has to be way of finding common ground, which makes the band tight. The best way is to play music that everyone knows so each of the members can understand the others style etc. and get comfortable and flexible with each other. Once that’s done, that’s when original music is actually created and is meaningful.
TG: What goes into your originals? Who does what in the band?
AB: Our original music was planned as an album, hence sticking to a common theme. The songs were written by me, however our method of creating the songs is that I would lay a framework of the song i.e. the basic feel and rhythm structure, lyrics etc of the song and then further intricacies are added by each of us in our own way for our own parts. It gives each musician the freedom to do what they want in their personal style within the framework of what we want to achieve as a whole.
TG: How important is it, for a band or musicians to understand the music they play, in terms of phrasing, style etc?
AB: I think what's most important is for bands/musicians to know what they want to achieve. There's no right or wrong. In terms of maintaining artistic/creative integrity there's nothing wrong with writing any kind of song in any way for yourself, however if your aim is to publish the music for a larger audience you have to take their interests into account. For eg. When I watch a band/artist performing their original music I tend to observe the audience; what I have often observed is after the first minute or so people's attention tend to divert either in conversation or to their mobile phone. Not to say that this is either the artist's or the audience's fault it's just the environment we live in which we have to accept and adapt to. Hence when I write I tend to not keep things to repetitive for too long and adding melody's and changes etc give the song an overall dynamic signifying different moods or change in environment within the framework of the song.
