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Indian Ocean (band)
Encyclopedia
Indian Ocean are an Indian rock band formed in New Delhi
in 1990. They are considered to be the pioneers of fusion rock genre in India. Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram
and Amit Kilam formed the most stable and successful line-up in the band's timeline. This line-up lasted till Asheem's death in 2010. It left a void for which the band has so far not made any official replacement. This leaves Sushmit as the only original member in the band. Sushmit and Rahul are the only members who have appeared on the band's debut album Indian Ocean
.
The musical style of the band can be at best classified as fusion music
. Some music critics describe the band's music as "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism
, environmentalism, mythology and revolution".
Recently, the band has moved against the lines of record labels. They released their latest album 16/330 Khajoor Road
online for free. The main reason for this move was the frustration over negotiating contracts with record companies and fighting over copyright issues. They have turned to concerts and sponsorships for generating revenue rather than playing in the hands of record labels. For a brief amount of time they had the sponsorship of Johnnie Walker
. All the members hold a great passion for the social work. They are also a part of the world's first Music Personalisation Initiative named DRP (www.divineraaga.com) as one of the five 'Featured Artists'.
for a Bengali
band Niharika. In 1984, Susmit who was a fan of Niharika; met Asheem during a concert. They hit it off right away. Asheem was taken up by Susmit’s guitar-playing and his vision to evolve a new sound. Susmit, in turn, learnt the nuances of rhythm from Asheem.
For the next 3 years, they kept on experimenting with their music with Susmit on guitar and Asheem on tabla and drums. Yet so far they did not write any lyrics at all. Apart from a concert at Roorkee University, there were not many notable performances by them.
They recorded the demo, taping an incredible 45 minutes consisting of 7 songs in just one day. Despite the rushed recording, the quality of the demo tape impressed HMV enough to offer them an album deal.
and two studio albums Kandisa
, Jhini
.They also composed the OST of Black Friday and contributed a couple of tracks to the OST of Peepli Live
.
where he was in coma for a brief period and recovering well. On December 25, 2009 he died in New Delhi due to a cardiac arrest.
The band announced release of their first studio album after the death of Asheem Chakravarty '16/330 Khajoor Road
'. The band had made the whole album available for download from their site by adding one new song each month.
Of late, the album '16/330 Khajoor Road', has been released in a 2 CD pack. The track listing for the same is as follows:
CD1:
1) Chand
2) Shoonya
3) Bondhu
4) Sone Ke Nagri
5) Bula Raha
6) Darte Ho
7) Jogiya
CD2:
1) Hulla
2) Untitled (Studio Scratch)
3) Gum Hai Aisa (Studio Scratch)
4) Phere (Hulla Reject - Practice room jam)
5) leaving Home (Live)
6) Tandanu (Practice room jam)
7) No Comebacks (Live At Khajoor Road)
The album was recorded at Kshitij Studios, new Delhi & Mixed by Aakash Gupta and Amit Kilam.
Susmit has virtually invented a new style of playing the guitar, an uncannily Indian sound where purity of scale reigns, strong melodic lines woven around the drone of open strings. His guitar style forms the basis of Indian Ocean's sound. Susmit’s personal vision is towards finding a new vocabulary for his music. His virtuoso talent never overshadows the big picture, but serves the song immaculately, strengthening it, embellishing it, giving it a distinct character.
Asheem (1957–2009) showed his rhythmic ability at an early age, surprising musicians who learned that he never had any formal training. He quit a career in advertising, along with Susmit Sen to form Indian Ocean, where he played the tabla, tarang and other percussion instruments while also being band's vocalist. Indian Ocean fans call him “the man with the golden voice”. Asheem sang and played the tabla simultaneously, a difficult feat rare by Indian percussionists. Asheem’s rhythm structures were unique and contributed a large part to Indian Ocean’s signature sound. He improvised vocal lines while on stage and was innovative with traditional Indian percussion instruments. Asheem was brought up in an atmosphere of Indian classical, folk and other Indian forms of music.
Asheem was hospitalized in Doha after suffering a heart attack in October and was in a state of coma for a brief period, but was recovering well. He died after suffering a cardiac arrest in New Delhi in the afternoon on the 25th of December 2009. He is survived by wife Sunita Chakravarty and 14-year-old son, Ekansh Chakravarty.
Amit’s drumming is a balance between the conventional and non-conventional. Largely self-taught, he believes in layering rhythm rather than a heavy drum layer, since he believes in simplicity, not technical wizardry, thus becoming the backbone of the solid sound that the band has. He incorporates Indian rhythms into his drumming in a unique fashion, moving in cycles of 8, 10, 12 14, 16, rather than simple 4/4 or ¾ styles. Not a “psychotic drummer”, he goes easy on the skins, yet his playing is very dynamic. Was introduced to music at the age of 4 by his parents, learning the guitar (Hawaiian – Indian classical). He is an instinctive musician, picking up several instruments very easily, and he sings also. Loves listening to various kinds of music – Hindi filmi, rock, pop – favorites are A R Rahman, Trilok Gurtu and Deep Purple.
Rahul’s bass playing moves smoothly – from melodic enmeshing with vocal and guitar lines to the more standard laying of foundations over which the band soars. His stage presence is an essential part of Indian Ocean’s live concerts. His vocals have a power and edge that emphasizes the folk roots of the band. Rahul also does most of the talking at live shows. His experiences as an activist/supporter with the Narmada Bachao Andolan
(1990–1995) and during his four years studying in the US have exposed him to a variety of musical styles from all over India and the world, and have strongly influenced his musical expression. Rahul has PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University
in New York
(1986–90). In recent year, Rahul Ram went to America to learn to play the alto-sax, which he intends to bring to the bands music.
Rahul and Asheem have also sung "Yaara Maula" in a Anurag's Kashayap Gulaal, a Hindi movie based on politics.
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in 1990. They are considered to be the pioneers of fusion rock genre in India. Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram
Rahul Ram
Rahul Ram plays the bass guitar for Indian Ocean. He joined as a part of the band in 1991. He had been playing bass guitar since junior school in the seventies....
and Amit Kilam formed the most stable and successful line-up in the band's timeline. This line-up lasted till Asheem's death in 2010. It left a void for which the band has so far not made any official replacement. This leaves Sushmit as the only original member in the band. Sushmit and Rahul are the only members who have appeared on the band's debut album Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean (Album)
Indian Ocean is the debut album from Indian Ocean. The band’s first album, recorded in just 10 days at HMV’s Dumdum studio, Calcutta, in December 92. Shaleen Sharma played the drums on this album. This is the only album in which Shaleen Sharma was present, later when Shaleen Sharma left the band he...
.
The musical style of the band can be at best classified as fusion music
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
. Some music critics describe the band's music as "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
, environmentalism, mythology and revolution".
Recently, the band has moved against the lines of record labels. They released their latest album 16/330 Khajoor Road
16/330 Khajoor Road
This is the name of latest album released by the iconic Indian band "Indian Ocean". This is the sixth album released by the band and the first one after the tragic demise of “Asheem Chakravarty”...
online for free. The main reason for this move was the frustration over negotiating contracts with record companies and fighting over copyright issues. They have turned to concerts and sponsorships for generating revenue rather than playing in the hands of record labels. For a brief amount of time they had the sponsorship of Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.-History:Originally known as Walker's...
. All the members hold a great passion for the social work. They are also a part of the world's first Music Personalisation Initiative named DRP (www.divineraaga.com) as one of the five 'Featured Artists'.
Formation
During early 1980s Asheem was playing tablaTabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
for a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
band Niharika. In 1984, Susmit who was a fan of Niharika; met Asheem during a concert. They hit it off right away. Asheem was taken up by Susmit’s guitar-playing and his vision to evolve a new sound. Susmit, in turn, learnt the nuances of rhythm from Asheem.
For the next 3 years, they kept on experimenting with their music with Susmit on guitar and Asheem on tabla and drums. Yet so far they did not write any lyrics at all. Apart from a concert at Roorkee University, there were not many notable performances by them.
Demo tape
In 1990, they were struggling hard to come up with a demo recording of their band. Susmit sold his electric guitar to raise money for the purpose. They chose to call themselves 'Indian Ocean' which came as a suggestion from Susmit’s father. They had also drafted Shaleen Sharma as the drummer, and Indrajit Dutta and Anirban Roy as bassists.They recorded the demo, taping an incredible 45 minutes consisting of 7 songs in just one day. Despite the rushed recording, the quality of the demo tape impressed HMV enough to offer them an album deal.
Rahul Ram and first album
In 1991, Rahul Ram who was Susmit's schoolmate at St. Xaviers, Delhi, joined the band replacing Anirban on bass. They started work on their first album. But, much to their frustration, the album took about an year to get finished. But when their eponymous debut album came out in 1993, it sold over 40,000 copies within a year of its release. It became the highest selling record by any Indian band at that time.Amit Kilam
In 1994, drummer Shaleen left the band. He was replaced by Amit Kilam who was much younger than the other band members. Barely out of his teens, Kilam was still taking his college exams. This line-up with Susmit, Asheem, Rahul and Amit became the most recognizable and the most successful in the band's timeline so far. Since then they rolled out a live album Desert RainDesert Rain
Desert Rain is the second album of Indian Ocean and the first live album ever to be released by any Indian band. It was recorded completely by accident from a concert played at the annual SAHMAT show at Mandi House, New Delhi on 1 January 1997. After waiting 7 hours to get on stage, Indian Ocean...
and two studio albums Kandisa
Kandisa (Album)
Kandisa is the second studio album released by Indian fusion band Indian Ocean in march 2000. It went on to become one of the best-loved albums produced in India. Kandisa acquired cult status and propelled Indian Ocean into the status of one of India’s most original and creative bands. The band...
, Jhini
Jhini
Jhini is the third studio album by the Indian Fusion band Indian Ocean recorded at Kosmic Studios in Varadeipalyam, Andhra Pradesh, in the midst of fields and hills, a hundred kilometres north of Chennai. Members of Indian Ocean used to laze in swings hung from mango trees, listen to the jackals at...
.They also composed the OST of Black Friday and contributed a couple of tracks to the OST of Peepli Live
Peepli Live
Peepli Live is a 2010 Indian comic satire that explores the topic of "farmer suicides" and the subsequent media and political response. It is written and directed by Anusha Rizvi in her directorial debut, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions...
.
Death of Asheem Chakravarty
In December 2009 the band lost Asheem to death. In October, after suffering a heart attack he was hospitalized in DohaDoha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
where he was in coma for a brief period and recovering well. On December 25, 2009 he died in New Delhi due to a cardiac arrest.
16/330 Khajoor Road
Indian Ocean has so far not announced any permanent replacement for Asheem. However, they have brought Himanshu Joshi to fill in for Asheem's vocals and Tuheen Chakravarty for tabla and other percussion which Asheem used to play.The band announced release of their first studio album after the death of Asheem Chakravarty '16/330 Khajoor Road
16/330 Khajoor Road
This is the name of latest album released by the iconic Indian band "Indian Ocean". This is the sixth album released by the band and the first one after the tragic demise of “Asheem Chakravarty”...
'. The band had made the whole album available for download from their site by adding one new song each month.
Of late, the album '16/330 Khajoor Road', has been released in a 2 CD pack. The track listing for the same is as follows:
CD1:
1) Chand
2) Shoonya
3) Bondhu
4) Sone Ke Nagri
5) Bula Raha
6) Darte Ho
7) Jogiya
CD2:
1) Hulla
2) Untitled (Studio Scratch)
3) Gum Hai Aisa (Studio Scratch)
4) Phere (Hulla Reject - Practice room jam)
5) leaving Home (Live)
6) Tandanu (Practice room jam)
7) No Comebacks (Live At Khajoor Road)
The album was recorded at Kshitij Studios, new Delhi & Mixed by Aakash Gupta and Amit Kilam.
Susmit Sen (guitar)
Asheem Chakravarty (tabla, percussions and vocals)
Asheem was hospitalized in Doha after suffering a heart attack in October and was in a state of coma for a brief period, but was recovering well. He died after suffering a cardiac arrest in New Delhi in the afternoon on the 25th of December 2009. He is survived by wife Sunita Chakravarty and 14-year-old son, Ekansh Chakravarty.
Amit Kilam (drums, percussions and vocals)
Rahul Ram (bass guitar and vocals)
View Artist page hereRahul Ram
Rahul Ram plays the bass guitar for Indian Ocean. He joined as a part of the band in 1991. He had been playing bass guitar since junior school in the seventies....
Rahul’s bass playing moves smoothly – from melodic enmeshing with vocal and guitar lines to the more standard laying of foundations over which the band soars. His stage presence is an essential part of Indian Ocean’s live concerts. His vocals have a power and edge that emphasizes the folk roots of the band. Rahul also does most of the talking at live shows. His experiences as an activist/supporter with the Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India....
(1990–1995) and during his four years studying in the US have exposed him to a variety of musical styles from all over India and the world, and have strongly influenced his musical expression. Rahul has PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(1986–90). In recent year, Rahul Ram went to America to learn to play the alto-sax, which he intends to bring to the bands music.
Rahul and Asheem have also sung "Yaara Maula" in a Anurag's Kashayap Gulaal, a Hindi movie based on politics.
Discography
- Indian OceanIndian Ocean (Album)Indian Ocean is the debut album from Indian Ocean. The band’s first album, recorded in just 10 days at HMV’s Dumdum studio, Calcutta, in December 92. Shaleen Sharma played the drums on this album. This is the only album in which Shaleen Sharma was present, later when Shaleen Sharma left the band he...
(1993) - Desert RainDesert RainDesert Rain is the second album of Indian Ocean and the first live album ever to be released by any Indian band. It was recorded completely by accident from a concert played at the annual SAHMAT show at Mandi House, New Delhi on 1 January 1997. After waiting 7 hours to get on stage, Indian Ocean...
(1997) - KandisaKandisa (Album)Kandisa is the second studio album released by Indian fusion band Indian Ocean in march 2000. It went on to become one of the best-loved albums produced in India. Kandisa acquired cult status and propelled Indian Ocean into the status of one of India’s most original and creative bands. The band...
(2000) - JhiniJhiniJhini is the third studio album by the Indian Fusion band Indian Ocean recorded at Kosmic Studios in Varadeipalyam, Andhra Pradesh, in the midst of fields and hills, a hundred kilometres north of Chennai. Members of Indian Ocean used to laze in swings hung from mango trees, listen to the jackals at...
(2004) (composed for film SWARAJ—The Little Republic) - Black Friday (2004) [composed for the film Black Friday]
- 16/330 Khajoor Road16/330 Khajoor RoadThis is the name of latest album released by the iconic Indian band "Indian Ocean". This is the sixth album released by the band and the first one after the tragic demise of “Asheem Chakravarty”...
(2010)
Filmography
- SWARAJ—The Little Republic (2002)
- Black Friday (2004)
- Hulla (2008)
- Live in Concert (DVD) (2008)
- Beware Dogs(2008)
- Bhoomi (2009)
- Yeh Mera India (2009)
- Mumbai Cutting (2009)
- Leaving Home--The Life and Music Of Indian Ocean (2010)
- Peepli LivePeepli LivePeepli Live is a 2010 Indian comic satire that explores the topic of "farmer suicides" and the subsequent media and political response. It is written and directed by Anusha Rizvi in her directorial debut, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions...