Band Interview
We first saw these guys perform in our college fest, among bands like Escher’s Knot and Eccentric Pendulum. They were an unknown quantity in the equation, an element we knew little about. Their unique combination of progressive heavy metal rifs with Carnatic and Arabic vocalizing style was something I had never experienced. Motherjane’s vocals have a similar texture but the effect just isn’t the same. A fluid unhindered amalgamation of Indian and western music is what characterizes Elevation Dynamics and sets them apart from the rest of the crowd. A band you must listen to, if you have a love for progressive heavy metal.
A: After the band made a first song, we felt that the song spoke more than what we thought about. Hence Prince suggested the name Dynamics i.e. the science of a particular thing. And then the name elevation was suggested. So basically it means the science of elevating oneself from within.
Q. AND THE CURRENT LINE-UP OF THE BAND IS ?
A: Aditya Francis - Vocals
Jatin Jitendrakumar - Bass
Shrinivas Iyer & Vignesh- Guitars
Prince John - Percussion
Q. HOW LONG HAVE YOU ALL KNOWN EACH OTHER? HOW DID YOU MEET?
A: Everyone apart from Vignesh studied in the same college. And ours was a college where metalheads were rare and easy to spot. Aditya, Jatin and Shri started jamming a few songs. Later Prince was asked to join and Vignesh joined in January (thanks to facebook).
Q. WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR MUSICAL EXPRESSION TO BE? WHO ARE YOUR MAJOR INFLUENCES?
A: Our genre is Progressive metal with a Carnatic and Arabic music influence. The major influences can be listed as Dreamtheater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Motherjane, Textures and Tool. And some other bands as well.
Q. WHEN DID YOU FORM YOUR BAND? WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER?
A: The band was formed In November 2009. But the final line up formed in January 2011. The inspiration to make music together is the different influence we have and our love for experimentation and create something extraordinary. The song Repentance Day took 7 months to produce.
Q. HOW DOES THE SONG WRITING / COMPOSING PROCESS GO ABOUT IN YOUR BAND?
A: Shri, Aditya and Vignesh bring in the riffs. Sometimes Jatin does too. I compose the beats considering every riff. Aditya writes the lyrics (with bad handwriting though). A lot of riffs are rejected in the jam room considering the structure of the songs. So our composition process is usually lengthy but everyone loves the output which comes with so much thinking.
Q. WHAT ARE THE MAIN THEMES OR TOPICS FOR MOST OF YOUR SONGS?
A: The songs talk about the positive aspects of life and about the wrongs we do against ourselves and the society. We take some stories from the past and relate it to today’s life.
Q. HOW DO YOU GUYS REHEARSE AND PRACTICE?
A: We make it a point to practice at least once a week and thrice a week when some gigs are near. The jam usually happens at Prince’s Place. He owns a place where he conducts music classes as well.
Q. WHICH SONGS DO YOU PERFORM MOST FREQUENTLY? DO YOU EVER PLAY ANY COVERS? DO YOU HAVE A SET-LIST FOR EACH OF YOUR GIGS?
A: The songs we perform frequently are- Repentance Day, Fall of the Pharoah and Final Cry. We started playing a new song called Echoes Within. We have never played covers and we stick to this set list for most of the gigs.
Q. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS AN UPCOMING BAND IN INDIA?
A: To find the right sound and to infuse the Carnatic style into metal. Also not imitating the west was another challenge as we are bombarded by the music from the west.
Q. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE WESTERN MUSIC SCENE IN INDIA ?
Q. FINDING ONE’S OWN SOUND IS A LONG GONE-BY THING , IN TODAY’S GENRE-PLAGUED SCENE . DO YOU GUYS THINK YOU HAVE YOUR OWN SOUND ?
A: Yes we have found our own sound but it is still evolving. It is easy to spot Elevation Dynamics music out of the 100 bands you listen to. Guaranteed.
Q. ANY LAST WORDS
A: Buy our cd’s when we launch it. You will not regret it.
