“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man – Albert Einstein” Isn’t this likely to happen? There are so many suspicions around us. Today, we humans are lost, deteriorating in values and responsibilities. We are destroying ourselves and the nature. The Album speaks about human values, our hidden urge to dare and dream of a better future.
February 14, 2014 witnessed the launch of As We Keep Searching’s much awaited debut EP- Growing Suspicions. As We Keep Searching is a four-piece ambient post-rock band with their fourth member, Tushar Verma taking on bass duties very recently. The EP consists of previously released singles- Aakorxon and The Tattva plus their electro-remixed versions. Following, is my interview the band as they talk about the band, the EP, their new recruit and their musical process.
Me: Hi. So can we start by introducing the band and your members?
Uddipan: -As We Keep Searching Is a post rock/experimental band from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It consists of Uddipan Sarmah – Vocals/Guitars/Production, Shubham Gurung – Keys/Samples, Tushar Verma – Bass, Ashwin Naidu – Drums
Me: There has been a new addition to your band recently. How has that affected your musical process?
Uddipan: The bass line in our debut EP Growing Suspicions was done by our good friend Marc Damania. But considering his other commitments, he won’t be able to support us live. Then Ashwin’s good friend Tushar pitched in, we met and jammed. Trust me; things are the same as what we expected. Most important is that we Gel with each other, that’s how a band survives. Each member has a dream to achieve in music, it keeps us moving.
Shubham: It’s always good to know more and more musicians that are eager to help our band progress. It’s been really good so far. Tushar is a dedicated musician and a fun person to be with so he gets along with the band very well and it’s clear that he’ll play a crucial role in our future projects and work.
Me: How did the name As We Keep Searching come up?
Uddipan: We were searching for so many things at that moment. Say it be song names, a bassist to complete our recording, name of the album, blah blah. And then this name came into our minds at the same moment.
Shubham: After completing all the recordings for the EP me, Uddipan and Ashwin wanted to name the band something that is different, catchy, something that makes an impression in the mind of those who hear it the very first time. So after a lot of brainstorming, we all came up with the name “As We Keep Searching” based on the theme of the music, the type of music, all the emotions that are attached to the music that we are making.
Me: What have been your primary influences that have driven you play the kind of music you are today?
Uddipan: Our influences are really varied, you can bet me on that. Each member has a vast list of influences. We start from gazals to metal. But yes, to limit ourselves to this kind of music, let’s name few artists who really influenced us – God Is an astronaut, explosions in the sky, sigur ros, this will destroy you, maybeshewill.
Shubham: We all have been listening to a lot of ambient/space/post-rock stuff for the past couple of months. Bands such as Explosions In The Sky, White Moth Black Butterfly, God Is An Astronaut, Maybeshewill were some of the primary influences that made us love and make this type of music.
Me: Do you have a band website? Why or why not? Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Do you use Bandcamp, Spotify or SoundCloud to share your music?
Uddipan: We don’t have a band website yet. We havent thought of it at the moment, as social sites like facebook, soundcloud, bandcamp are doing us good. We are a DIY band, we do all our work together and love being at our studio, Bluetree Studios, Ahmedabad (www.bluetreestudios.in). Yes, probably when we get some time out of music, we will make a website too.
Me: Can you tell us about your two day-old EP release Growing Suspicions?
Uddipan: Growing Suspicions is the debut EP of the band. It is creating some buzz in India and worldwide. All major blogs and magazines in India are streaming the album. We are getting some healthy traffic to out social links. We are working hard, and people are appreciating our music, that’s what is encouraging.
Shubham: We all were listening to the EP as many times as we could to make sure that there are no mistakes/flaws and is sounding absolutely perfect. So about the release, we are pretty confident and happy that people will like what they hear.
Me: How was your current song-writing process for the EP? Who handles what specific duties?
Uddipan: It would start with me and Shubham programming scratches in the studio. Later joined by Ashwin to put the drums, then we wrap it up with bass and vocals. We are more of a first record and then jam kind off band. But yes, we don’t stop making songs when we do jam.
Me: Have you’ll played live? Are you’ll planning to tour for this EP?
Uddipan: Not yet. Few more jam sessions and we are set to go live. Yes, we plan to do shows very soon.
Shubham: No we haven’t played live yet, but we are in talks with venues around. Jamming session is in process as our next step is to get ready to play shows and spread our music to more and more people.
Me: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Uddipan: Online is the best medium in today’s date. There are people who still buys a CD, but less of them. There is more reach when you do it online. And being a new band, we wish to reach to more crowd rather than limiting ourselves to 500 hard copies. We have put up the album at www.oklisten.com/aswekeepsearching and other major stores like iTunes, Amazon, Spotify for download. But yes, we do have online free streaming at all our social links.
Me: Where do you see yourself to be in the future? Can we expect a full-length album soon enough?
Uddipan: We expect to do as many shows as possible now. We will be away from the studio for sometime. Album, ya probably in a year. But, you can expect us playing in your city with some new songs on the go.
Shubham: As mentioned earlier, we are gearing up for touring and live shows. That’s what we concentrate now.
Me: Let’s conclude by you giving a small message to the youth, you ideal target audience in relation to the music culture in India today. What do you have to say?
Uddipan: We are very young to make such a comment. Indian independent music scene is growing, so support from everone is very important. Don’t hesitate to share upcoming independent music. It takes so much of hard to bring up good product, so keep appreciating and supporting, as shares, likes, comments, posts are all free!
You get to know more about the band and listen to there music here
Purchase Growing Suspicions here
