First on stage was ‘Until We
Last,’ an ambient, instrumental act that cites their influences as the Universe
and Nature. Cool and composed, there are no messages, jokes or gyaan from this
band, because they rarely take a break from their shoegazing. Nonetheless,
they’re into it like a business as they patiently build layer upon layer of
guitar-heavy, synth-driven soundscapes, producing a ‘spaced out,’ cinematic
effect. Primarily a studio project, Until We Last’s bid at ‘recreating nature
with sound’ has already found vast audiences with songs featured on stations
like Koopradio of Texas. “Our music is very open and has the tendency to touch
people’s hearts,” says Ketan, the guitarist who formed the band a year ago.
Next up is a trio of metal
heads that goes by the name, ‘The Lies Inside.’ When they are not causing
seizures among the frail, one of them is a commercial pilot, another works for
Toyota and the third teaches drums at Taaqademy. As soon as they’re past a few
initial technical hiccups, they get their waiting crowd involved with a ready frenzy.
The band notes that the main challenge in a competition is keeping the time
stress at bay while also showcasing one’s strengths. “We definitely stick out
because we play metal,” says Arun, the guitarist and vocalist. “People may
dismiss metal core as ‘emo’ or ‘poser,’ but we consider it a perfect mix of
melody and brutality.” Song writing is a crucial part of The Lies Inside,
seeking to create realistic lyrics instead of metaphors derived from detailed
images of blood and severed guts. However, a boxy mix of the vocals and the
distorted guitar tone doesn’t allow for the content to be deciphered.
The third and last band of
the night is a group of four students from Srishti School of Design that call
themselves “Space Behind The Yellow Room.” Prior to getting on stage, they
convey that they’re perhaps a little bored and confess that it’s not right to
compete with others’ music since you can’t compare art to art. “We see this as
a larger scale rehearsal so we try not to change our mindset,” says Nihar, one
of the guitarists. A quick discussion helps them list their priorities for the
night: “Listen, play, eat and go home. We live really far away.” As soon as
they start playing, you would be forced to put away any set notions about art
students taking their thoughts for granted. Space Behind is exuberant, animated
and dreamy- all at once. Their ideas are well constructed and fit together with
ease. The band aspires to construct songs that take off from one another, “building
up to a whole like the chapters of a novel.” On the part of novelty, it’s
stimulating to see Shoumik Biswas deliver equal power into both his roles as
drummer and vocalist.
“To be the best here you
have to do something different,” says Ketan. “Overall performance, what we do
on stage and the sound are largely left to us, but the chance we take is what’s
left to the judges.” Devashish, Space Behind’s lead guitarist adds, “You need
to know yourself and put a bit of yourself into it. If every band put
themselves into their music, they’d all sound unique even if they fell under
the same style."
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