Mumbai has always been well known for its metal scene. The city’s underground has given birth to some of the biggest metal acts in the country, from erstwhile stalwarts such as Sceptre and Brahma, to current biggies such as Demonic Resurrection, Bhayanak Maut and Exhumation. Maybe it has to do with the psyche of the average Mumbai underground scenester, or maybe it’s just because a city saturated in Bollywood will give rise to the most extreme opposition in terms of music, but the best attended shows in the city have always been metal shows. While this is great for the metal scene, it does lead to a problem for alternative and punk rock bands as they fight for their share of support in an underground with limited resources. With metal bands dominating the college circuit, punk bands had to step up and find a way to be noticed. For the past six years, ennui.BOMB has been highlighting the fact that there is more to the Mumbai underground than metal and 80s nostalgia. The team of Rishu Singh and Aditi Ghosalkar have released six ‘un-metal’ compilations over the years, featuring genres as diverse as hardcore punk, jazz-rock, electronica and hip-hop. These include the iconic ‘We Are The Scene’ compilations, which were later followed by the ‘Stupid Ditties’ series. The two have also organized a number of shows and managed a long list of Bombay’s foremost alternative artists. After a slow couple of years, Rishu and Aditi are all set to step on the gas and take the ennui.BOMB legacy forward. Bhanuj Kappal speaks to Rishu Singh about the punk rock scene, his future plans and more.

Q: You’ve been in the Mumbai scene for a long time. How did you get into the underground in the first place?

A: Oh, I was friends with some cool kids in school who put me onto the scene. RSJ was also a big help. I remember when the Great Indian Rock (GIR) compilation came out, it was huge. It was very exciting to see a compilation of original music when bands considered having one original composition in their set as a huge achievement.

Q: How did you decide to become more active in the scene? How difficult was it when you started out?

A: You know, I realized that there’s only so much you can crib and complain about. If you have a problem with something, then eventually you have to try and do it yourself. That’s the only way you’ll get everything done the way you want it.

Starting out was pretty easy actually. We got a lot of support from the bands, the first show that we did was a punk tribute to Kurt Cobain at Razz. This was the phase where I decided that I was going to put in my own money and whatever happens, I was going to make this shit work. We spoke to the bands, found out that they were ready to play as long as we split the money at the gate. I also spoke to Razz. Jayesh, who manages Bombay Bassment right now, was the manager at Razz that time. He was very supportive; I think he was one of the most supportive managers I’ve dealt with at Razz. He was like “yeah man, sure thing. We’ll pay half for the sound as well”. It was pretty cool because after giving Razz its share, we’d made Rs. 14000 between the five bands and the manager, so it was party time.

Q: How did ‘We Are The Scene’ and ‘Stupid Ditties’ happen?

A: So yeah, then we got into the whole compilation scene with WATS and those CDs, because there was too much metal at the time. That has definitely helped the metal scene which has had a buzz about it for a long time and the results of that are there for everyone to see. But there was this whole dearth of space for un-metal and alternative music in the scene. Eventually we realized that it was pretty retarded to just narrow it down to one genre. That was the focus and I think that’s what it always will be for Stupid Ditties, to focus on the un-metal bands. It’s not like we’re opposed to metal bands.

The first Stupid Ditties CD was superb once we got in tracks from artists like Indigo Children and Something Relevant. We knew we had a good thing going. Plus it gave us the chance to put forward new bands which had an interesting sound. Also, it was a time between jobs and we had a lot of time on our hands, so we could work on it properly. Fali mastered the album, so we gave him the ad in the booklet, that kind of stuff.

Q: You’ve managed a number of bands, how was that experience?

A: I’ve managed Medusa, Tripwire, Split, Forcefield, Rainvan and Human Abstract. We’re also managing Riot Peddlers now. It was superb, we had a lot of fun. Also, it gives you different perspectives. I’ve been a manager, label owner, worked on the marketing aspect of music as well. The different perspectives are really useful.

Q:  Apart from the annual Stupid Ditties compilation, ennui.BOMB has been pretty quiet for the past couple of years, but now you guys have taken it up a notch. What brought about the renewed focus?

A: Obviously, ennui.BOMB has been something non-commercial, something that I’ve been doing apart from my job. The idea was to never let it die, and so we’ve been doing the compilations and the occasional random gig somewhere for a while now. Now Aditi and I have reached a place in life where we’re both more mature and have a lot more perspective on life now. So now the idea is to not only to do the record label, but also to start booking bands that we think deserve more gigs, get into merchandising and a whole lot of things to support this independent culture. We’re going to start small again, but no one’s in a hurry. We’re in it for a long haul.

Q: Are you looking at bands or inviting bands to sign for the label?

A: Not really inviting, because we don’t have too much money at our disposal, we can’t say ‘Aa jao, jisko bhi chahiye le lo’. But we have taken some loans, we do have a small pool of money which we will use to sign artists that we are keen on signing. Talks are on with 3 artists right now. I can’t take names yet, but these are guys that we are very keen on and that we’re very surprised that nobody’s seriously looked at these bands. Forget the independent labels, even the major labels should be interested.

Q: How do you see the change in the scene from when you started to where it is now?

A: It’s a beautiful change; it’s like this great untapped paradise of opportunities. When it started off, bands like Chakravyu and all had got bottles thrown at them for playing an all original set at I-Rock at Rang Bhavan. So we’ve come from there to niches. We have a massive metal scene going on, we have different scenes now. There are various festivals coming up, you have a lot of digital activity. It’s brilliant man, there’s no stopping this. It’s only going to get bigger and bigger and bigger until the scene eats itself.

Q: Do you have any advice to entrepreneurs looking to get into the scene?

A: Have a day job, have something that can back you up if you fail. Or have enough savings, whatever. But make sure you have something if you have other responsibilities such as a wife or kids or parents. Or you could do things which are free, where no money is involved and only your brains are involved. Figure out how to use your problems and hardships as opportunities. And just get out there and do it.

Q: What’s next for ennui.BOMB?

A: Well, we’re organising our first punk show at Blue Frog. It’s called the Punk Rock Night (Mare), and features three upcoming punk bands – Blek, The Riot Peddlers and Pip of the Fourth Mother. It’s a free gig on the 15^th of May. Be there.

Vikrant Dev takes us deeper into the dark world of Metal, exploring its hitherto unexplored variants. Read on..

Earth

Globally, Metal today is doing pretty good for itself compared to its inception period when it was embroiled in all sorts of controversies, especially for promoting Satanic ideologies. Over the years, the rants may have died down, the sales may have skyrocketed but it still isn’t being taken seriously in art-circles or otherwise. Sure, old school heroes like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath may be viable t-shirt options to extend your love for metal outside your mental realm or maybe because it’s cool to be a metalhead; but, what next? Are you content with the same music and the saturated metal scene? Don’t you want to be swept of your feet by something truly amazing? Those new to metal will not bother much about what I am saying but those who have been following metal for quite some time will agree that they have dabbled in a lot of sub-genres looking for that precious diamond. Metal like other genres has been

Iris

constantly re-inventing itself to keep things afresh and its followers interested. In its 50 year history, many sub-genres and fusion genres that metal has spawned after knocking up various other genres, either have basked in the sunlight or have never made it to the surface, to see the light of the day.

The last two decades have witnessed a small but rising force to be reckoned with – Minimalist/Ambient Metal, which has put the underground under the spotlight. Under this new umbrella term three sub-forms exist – Post-Metal, Drone Metal and Metalgaze. The last four to five years have been the most rewarding to both- the practitioners of this art form as well as the increasing number of followers. Most of the artists belonging to this fusion genre are receiving critical acclaim and are consistently making it to the top of the customary year-end ‘Best Albums of the Year’ lists of magazines and webzines. So what sets them apart from the

Nadja

other stuff? These artists are not busy replicating the monstrous riffs of Slayer or the jackhammer like crushing percussion of Children Of Bodom; they are returning back to the roots i.e. the dirges of Black Sabbath. The emphasis on ambiance and minimalism has never been more prominent. Their sound is a stripped down version of the above mentioned bands without losing the aggressiveness; the aggressiveness and the darkness that metal has come to be associated with is demonstrated by adding a cinematic touch to the music in the form of dark ambient music or other unconventional instruments not associated with metal. Dark ambient sounds could involve everything from using eerie

Russian Circles

samples to brooding, ominous and wistful pads. This form of metal has been championed by independent metal record labels like Hydra Head, Southern Lord, Crucial Blast, 20 Buck Spin, Profound Lore and Battle Kommand in the U.S. while artists elsewhere are releasing albums independently on the internet.

Besides the use of dark ambient music, the artists have a common string of drone music running through them. Drone music is a minimalist music style that involves a sustained and repeated use of notes, tone-clusters that can have varying tempo. Another variant, post-rock, consists of fluid song structures that deviate from traditional methods of song writing as displayed in rock music. The template of these songs can be anything from dub to jazz to hip-hop. Also, the songs, especially,

Wolves

in instrumental post-rock have build-ups in the form of melodic drones that end in a crescendo. Instrumental post-rock generally avoids the rebellious overtones and embraces ambient and minimalist overtones. Also, some bands use the vocals as another tool to enhance the overall effect of their music. A close relative of post-rock is shoegaze music. This music is a psychedelic concoction of garage, noise rock, post-punk and dream-pop. Like dream-pop it features sensual and ethereal vocals, but veiled by a ‘wall of sound’ that is created by droning riffs from two distorted guitars. My Bloody Valentine’s magnum opus Loveless is a benchmark in this genre and much of the band’s experiments lead to the shaping of the sound of shoegaze. The use of shoegaze’s song structures by metal bands has led to the development of a new fusion genre called as metalgaze, which has found takers even in the burgeoning French black metal scene. While metalgaze and post-metal rely on low intensity drones, the intensity of drones in another fusion genre, drone metal, is ear deafening. The above mentioned nuances are the pillars of minimalist metal and their usage is highly synonymous with it.

Moving on to Post-metal, a tag first given to the band Isis is a heady mix of

Irepress

sludge metal and post-rock like song structure. Post-metal marries the dense, epic and primal quality of Bay Area sludge metal greats Neurosis with more subdued elements of ambient greats like Brian Eno and the shoegaze bands with pop sensibilities like Slowdive. Though the heavy riffs, slow tempos and the guttural vocals of sludge metal are present, enough room is given to different elements like dark ambient passages, warm tremolo guitar melodies and staccato bassline that hold the song together in order to create an ebbing and a flowing soundscape that teases and tantalizes you into pseudo-crescendos. People have given various other names to this genre, like NeurIsis and art metal. Like other bands in this fusion genre, Isis over the years has shown an increased maturity and musicianship and has toned down the aggressiveness; enough to satisfy the metalheads and on the other hand has brought in the kind of progressiveness shown by King Krimson and Pink Flyod. Their last year’s release Wavering Radiant is evidence to this fact. The themes of post-metal albums often have a literary reference, which is another reason why critics call it arty. Highly in favour of post-metal, critics have gone on record saying that Isis has helped loosen heavy metal from its hardcore roots by creating an immeasurable and intimate vision which is hard to pin down by rejecting the conventional use of verses, choruses and fast riffs. In totality post-metal has become one of the most omnipresent heavy metal sub-genres because of its artsy nature (cautious progressiveness) and emphasis on experimentation rather than sticking to any particular type of music in spite of the influences. It is the first time that art circles are drooling over metal!

Sunn O)))

Extreme metal has always been about overwhelming the senses, either through a chaotic frenzied style of grindcore, the more spacious and swollen sonic assaults of Neurosis and Isis or like in Sunn O)))’s case using enormous amounts of feedback to create bleakest of bleak and darkest of dark drone metal. Like post-metal, drone metal has lengthy and minimalism inspired songs. The minimalism is to such an extent that it just utilizes chord progressions to create almost static sonic landscapes consisting of cyclonic drones. “How boring!” one would say! But that is where the art lies- in creating disturbing visuals. It’s like we are the shore and waves and waves of hot boiling lava are hitting us. The growls are as sparse as ever and add to the eerie quality of the whole experience. The vocals are harsh and corroding. There is so much darkness inside every note and the heart of every tone that everything around you turns into something scary. The darkness never ceases to descend and ties your body into chains of sadness and fear. The guitars are heavy and foggy, slithering like a venomous snake out to bite you! Though Sunn O))) is currently the most publicised band, they are not the ones who created this sound. A band called Earth (who derive their name from Black Sabbath’s original name) laid the foundation of this genre when they released the 73 minute epic Earth 2: Special Low – Frequency Version that commingled the best of sludge metal godfathers The Melvins, noise rock and the drones of experimental artist La Monte Young. Though Sunn O))) started out as an Earth tribute band, it slowly turned into something serious after various collaborations with artists like Atilla Cisar of black metal band Mayhem, multi-instrumentalist and drone artist Oren Ambarchi, Tony Conrad of Earth, etc. Besides the shock treatment of these artists Sunn O))) adds new elements in every album to sustain the horror. In their live performances, the band members dress up in black robes with their faces generally hidden under the hood and use as many as 6 amps to blow the listeners out of their way!! One can imagine the amount of ruckus being created by them. Also they add an eldritch quality to their sound. For instance, in one of their songs featuring Xasthur’s Malefic they recorded the song with Malefic miked inside a coffin!!

Xasthur

While drone metal and post-metal are related to the dark arts, metalgaze is the opposite and is melodic in nature with the aggro of course. Canadian duo Nadja have particularly helped in defining this genre and giving it credibility. The slow sensual crawl of the melodic drones and their textured sound is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘glide-guitar’ experiments. In fact Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine once confessed to experimenting with death metal’s guitar licks which suggests that interplay between the two genres is possible.

After reading about these avant-garde musicians, what will come as a surprise to a lot of people will be the fact that how completely unrelated genres have been coalesced into a whole to create three mutant genres! Though long time followers of indie rock may term them as passé, the newly introduced ones will vouch for their ingenuity. It’s like when Radiohead’s electronica influenced album Kid A was released. The ones used to their guitar driven songs were in awe of their new step while long time followers of electronica (especially of the Warp bastion) dismissed their new direction as passé. But, in the end Radiohead won this battle. Why? Because even though they were influenced by electronica, they added their own flavour to the music and built something entirely new for listeners of all types. The same can be said for minimalist metal artists, who besides the obvious influences construct a world entirely of their own in which both metal and the ‘influences’ reside peacefully and that is the hallmark of good musicians.

Article by Vikrant Dev