Our next stop is the Metaverse: Indian Ocean
Members of the fusion rock band talk about their upcoming album and transcending language boundaries
For the noted band Indian Ocean, their current India tour is a little too special. Sharing the reason, Nikhil Rao, the lead guitarist, says, “When it comes to live performances, we are often restricted to music and literary festivals, college events or corporate retreats. This is the first time that we have organised a proper, scheduled multi-city tour, partnered with ticketing portals, and are following an itinerary to promote our upcoming album, Tu Hai.” The Delhi-based band is one of the most iconic ones to have emerged from India’s independent music scene back in the 1990s. In their upcoming album, they are all set to dabble in songs centred around philosophical musings, metaphysical questions, as well as renditions about the environment. “This album has been a collaborative effort spanning many years. We were, in fact, done with its production in 2019. But then the pandemic hit, and we couldn’t release it or perform it live anywhere. So we decided to do the whole process this year,” says Rahul Ram, bass guitarist and vocalist of the band.
When asked about their future plans, Rao says, “We want to maintain our consistency. We’ll take any opportunity that comes our way.” While Ram chimes, “Our next stop is the Metaverse! We want to understand that aspect of music and see how we can play with it. I just think we need more time to understand what exactly this platform is and how it will help the business and also work for our audiences. Once we do that, you’ll definitely see us being a part of it.”
The band hopes to explore music in various languages as well. Ram says, “I am well versed in Bangla, Marathi and a little bit of Kannada. I know that our band is open to doing songs in multiple languages.”
That’s not all, they will also be seen dabbling with theatre as Rao shares, “Other than continuing to make music, we also want to explore different platforms. Currently, there is a project in the works with some of our friends who are theatre artistes. It’s more about not having high ambitions or expectations and continuing to do good work. It’s all about consistency and taking opportunities that come our way.”
