Tunes of an era

Many would remember the year 2000 as Y2K or the year that Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand became the 27th and 28th states of the country or perhaps the year Priyanka Chopra brought home the Miss World title. But for the ones who keep a tab on new developments and are genuinely interested in music, they would remember 2000 as the year when popular rock band Them Clones was formed. Fifteen years into the scene and the Delhi-based rock band is still going strong. 

Members Prithwish Dev (vocals), Joseph lalhmachhuana (guitars), Akshay Raheja (keyboards/samples) and Surojit Dev (drums) celebrated 15 years of existence in the music scenario with a celebratory gig at Hard Rock Cafe, Gurgaon. They made the crowd tap its feet to tracks from their earlier compositions. Dev told us, “We chose tunes from the older catalogue because they technically defined our journey.”

When we asked about the changes that they see in the present music scenario, Dev said it had improved in leaps and bounds, by becoming more organised and structured, with indie music getting attention. “Proper venues hosting these gigs have their calendars worked out months in advance. There is representation for the bands. We get to use the latest gear,” he told us with a grin.

With a sigh of nostalgia Dev recounted, “We started at an interesting phase. It was the transition phase of indie music which is evolving in various ways even today. In 1997, rock bands generally used to perform covers. Till 2005 we made our own music and the audience at that time really liked it.” While having ambitious dreams, Dev showed that he was a realistic individual who does not deny the facts. “I am not denying the fact that there is barely any market for indie music. But though it may not be as big as Bollywood, indie music has carved a niche for itself,” the drummer pointed out.

Although he seemed pretty happy, Dev did voice a complaint. “We think that bands do not earn as much as they should be making. The Indian music scene hasn’t yet produced a rags-to-riches stories, which would be pretty interesting in itself,” he said.Over the years, along with their music, the members have grown up too. There have also been times when they ponder about the possibility of discontinuing the band. Dev said, “When we started out, we would grab any opportunity that came our way but we do not do that now. So you never really know what just might happen tomorrow,” he said.

Dev believes that people now are too well informed. “They know everything about their favourite artistes and believe in their music,” he told us and explained, “and when I say people, I am not talking about people at large, but people who actually follow the music scene.”The band, whose last release Season 2 Singles came out in 2013, is now looking forward to releasing some new music after two years.

The members have finalised about eight new tunes for their new catalogue. “We want to compose at least 20 more compositions, and then pick 10 pieces for the new album,” Dev mentioned, refusing to divulge much about their commercial projects. “We are in talks with director Sanjay Gupta for a project and that is all we can say as of now,” the drummer disclosed.