Sound Impact

16/330 Khajur Lane is the band’s sixth album and comes after a gap of five years since the band was busy with their gigs abroad apart from a few film projects. It is also the last in the classical series that includes ‘Kandisa’,‘Jhini’ and ‘Desert Rain’. “The six songs in the album were created over the past three-and-a-half years for some projects but were not released. So we decided to compile these in an album and gift it to our fans,who have supported us for the past 20 years,” says drummer Amit Kilam when we catch the group during rehearsals for an upcoming Singapore tour. The tracks,with names like ‘Shunya’,‘Chand’,‘Bhumi,Gulara and ‘Sone Ki Nagri’ ,have the trademark folk melodies that are Indian Ocean’s signature.

Kilam adds that the album is a tribute to Asheem Chakravarty,Indian Ocean’s founding member and lead percussionist,who passed away earlier this year. “The album has Asheem’s vocals. Also,we have to stop practising at 16/330 Khajur Lane soon since the owner needs it. We have to shift to a new place now. I guess Asheem and this place deserve a tribute before we leave,” says Kilam. A CD of 16/330 Khajur Lane will be released six months later. “But before that,the songs will be available for free download. Everybody would have downloaded the pirated version otherwise,” says Rahul Ram,the bass guitarist.

Another reason for offering free download is that the band is unhappy with the deals most music companies offer. “Music labels pay us peanuts. Since most of our earnings come from live shows,why not have our music available for free and let people demand these songs during our gigs?” says Ram. But gripes apart,the band is upbeat. It promises to be an eventful year. Apart from the new album,there’s also Anusha Rizvi’s film Peepli Live ,which has two songs by the band,to look forward to.