British band’s lead singer and guitarist Matt Bigland of Dinosaur Pile Up talks to Shalini Saksena about how they love performing in India and their album Eleven Eleven
What brings you to IndiaIJ
This is the second time that we have come to India. It is great to bring music to India is exciting. To be this far from the UK and playing in this part of the world is fantastic. We are so energized right now.
Tell us about your music and what it means when you say it is alternative rockIJ
We are playing like a roll alternative type of rock that is exciting, real and powerful. There is a lot of electronic music out there, in fact there is a lot of different kind of music available all the time. What we strong believe as a band is that we want to take rock to its roots in an alternative manner.
You continue to perform 11:11 even though it was released last year in the UK. What do you think why it continues to be so popularIJ
The music is very powerful and real. It is catchy and at the same time heavy. It has a rawness to it and hence finds a connect with the people. We take a lot of inspiration from the music of the 90s. This is something that has found many takers since this kind of music is missing these days.
What is the toughest thing to do for the bandIJ
It is difficult to answer this since what we do and a band is something that we love doing whether it is writing songs, or going on a tour. What we do comes naturally. Playing music with the guys is what I love and hence the entire exercise is a pleasure for us. Probably the challenge is all the scheduling of the tours that we go on and the jet lag, not that we are complaining. But the whole schedule can get to you sometime.
You are a British band. Is the audience different at each place you playIJ
Definitely, the listeners are different. Some audience is more responsive than others. For example in Japan the listeners will respond and clap once the performance is over but otherwise you can hear a pin drop. In the US, there is constant screaming, clapping and shrieking.
What about the reaction from people here in IndiaIJ
When we first came to India in 2014, we didn’t know what to expect from the crowd. The Indian crowd has been very energized and support and appreciate our music. When we turned up on the stage people went crazy and we were awed, we weren’t expecting so many people to turn up let alone appreciate it. The whole place erupted and that was amazing.
How does it feel to be on the road all the timeIJ
Though it is hard, there is exhaustion but we love music and meet new people and see new places. We love being together as a band so it kind of negates other things that may weigh on us.
What are the plans for 2017IJ
When we get back from India, we have a Europe tour till end of December 2016. In 2017, we will mostly be touring, there is the US tour. This is the first time that we have released an album globally and we want to give it the biggest opportunity that we can give. So will be in Japan, Europe and may be back in India.