Surojit Dev, member of a music alternative rock band Them Clones, says the real game-changers in the genre came at the start of the new millennium
In the initial phase, all the five band-mates had their day jobs. While Surojit Dev worked at Ogilvy, Prithwish was at Moser Baer. Gucci and Clarence had their own studios, and Joseph had a government job.
Recalling the origins of the alternative rock band, Surojit Dev says, “It was all through word of mouth. I was playing for a couple of metal bands and I realised that’s not the music I wanted to do. I met Gucci and started the band with him.” Brother Prithwish joined later as vocalist and some additions and subtractions later the present line-up has been settled upon. “We are a team of four now — comprising Prithwish Dev (vocals), Joseph lalhmachhuana (guitar), Abhishek Mittal (bass) and me (drums),” informs Dev.
“Former band-mate Abeer Verma came up with the name, a twist on the track Them Bones by American rock band Alice in Chains — the performers on stage as clones of their real selves being the idea behind Them Clones,” he adds.
Challenges in the initial years have smoothened out. “There’s always a fight with the budget,” he says. “Now you have proper jam pads coming up, with charges starting from Rs 250 to 300 per hour, which is good because we don’t earn in lakhs. Earlier, gigs were fewer and the concept was cover-driven. Now more and more bands are taking the initiative to do original compositions,” he elaborates.
A significant achievement came in the form of Channel V’s launchpad in 2005. “It provided a huge platform. People started knowing Them Clones after this,” he says. At a time when Indian bands are leaning more and more towards providing their tracks online, even for free, and either doing away with or postponing album releases, how much sense does a tangible album makeIJ “Frankly, for musicians there is little or no money to be made on albums. At the end of the day, an album on the shelf is promotion for the band. The public actually gets to know your band if they see you on a CD,” he explains.
About the status of rock today, he says, “Rock has had a long-running history, whether it was bands from the 70s and 80s or the newcomers in the list. But the real game-changers came at the start of the new millennium, with many bands starting a slow ascent towards nation-wide fame.”
Further talking about where is indie rock heading, he adds, “Because of social media platforms, people in India are able to distinguish rock music now. This genre has created its own niche space over the years.” The alternative rock band performed at the recently concluded Indie Art Week. “We played All about the heartbreak, Jealousy, love.Hate.Heros and few of our new releases on a loop in Indie Art week. It was a great experience to meet people of different genres under one roof,” he says.
Dev defines Them Clones’ music as “simple, hummable music blended with pop-making melody.”
“The aim is to play as much as possible, in India and abroad. Spread happiness and joy,” says Dev, quickly adding, “I’m not saying peace, ok!”