Clinton Cerejo, composer & producer-singer, has collaborated with singer Bianca Gomes to form a band Shor Police. In a chat with SHAlINI SAKSENA, he talks about why he chose this name & other things
How did you arrive at this name of the bandIJ
It is a quirky name. When Bianca and I were looking for options, my wife (Dominique) suggested Shor Police. We instantly fell in love with the name. The kind of music we are doing is very modern. Given the current climate of music, there is a lot of dissatisfaction in the minds of the listeners. They feel they are getting the same kind of music over and over again. People are looking for variety, a little out-of-the-box and some kind of excellence. The name just seems to be apt from this aspect. The whole idea is to the bring back good music.
What kind of music will we be hearingIJ
There will be independent music that will be peppered with some covers. But covers are not just done per se. It will be like Chris Cornell used to do covers in most of his gigs. There is no harm in doing covers. Some of the biggest artists have done covers — not just for the sake of it, they have always re-imagined it; they have pushed the space. So that is our idea as well. There will be Hindi and English songs and later see what kind of collaborations we can do.
What was the reason you chose Bianca (Gomes)IJ
We have worked together on various projects which began with Coke Studio days. We have been a part of another band — Ananthaal — a fusion band with Vijay Prakash. Both of us (Bianca and I) have a great working relationship. This is an overflow from the other band — Clinton Cerejo Band — and we came together to do more contemporary music.
What have been the ups in the music industryIJ
That indie music has made a near comeback. This is really important. There was a time, back in the 80s-90s, we had a flourishing indie pop industry with the likes of Shweta Shetty and Remo who were Indian popstars. But then indie died a natural death as Bollywood started getting bigger and labels started pumping money into Bollywood. Now indie is back and growing stronger.
Why is Bollywood still music still so bigIJ
It is due to how movie production houses need something to promote their film with. The song becomes a vehicle for the star. This is unfortunate. In the West, Beyoncé is a star in herself she doesn’t need a film star dancing to her song for it to become bigger which is the case in India. Bollywood has become a giant canvas on which everybody wants to paint. But music should have its space in the society and be able to tell its own story and not what the film directors want to tell. When you compose for a film, the artist is telling a story that the film director wants and not what you want to tell.
Define music.
It is part science, part art. Kids today, ignore the scientific aspect of music. There are a lot of technical and academic aspects of music that can’t be ignored. When you have the skillset, art becomes second nature.
What is the quality of music in India todayIJ
We are borrowing as much as the West does from us. Sometimes you hear a song from the Top 40 charts which sounds like a Bollywood song. We see the trend internationally and do a version of it which may not necessarily be good. We should infuse something that is Indian.
Would you agree that creativity is dying in BollywoodIJ
Creativity is dying in terms of the labels not thinking outside their agenda. If they can use some of the profits from a remake and fund five progressive albums then the remix is justified. That is the difference between India and the West. There, they have their Madonnas and Beyoncés. But they also have an artist like Dave Matthews Band who is so eclectic and can fill up a Madison Square Garden. The labels there support all genres of music. They use profits from commercial artists and use it to promote other artists who they believe can be built upon for the future. There is a lot of talent in India just waiting to be found.