Musical & Bengal
Tracing the music to where it started in Calcutta or Kolkata as we know it now, is like searching for a pin in a hay stack. Now why do I say that ? Pretty much because music in Calcutta as of today traces back to the pre British Era. So where do I start looking ? The thing about Calcutta is that the rumors and the buzz about everything lies on the streets of the city. All you need is to be inquisitive about something and you’ll get your stuff. So for a month I searched around in the city to gather as much about the scene as there is.
For a city known for its rich cultural side and support for upcoming talent, there’s a dearth of places where bands can present their music like most of the cities in the country. But the places that support the scene, do so very religiously. One such hangout is Someplace Else Forever an uptown British Style Pub under the Park Hotel, also considered as the Mecca for Rock Music in the city, serves as a regular venue for bands waiting to showcase their talents.
Back in January 09 the city saw an event that only made rock & metal the big thing in town. ‘The Pit’ , the very first open and publicised metal gig in the city.A city known for its mild cultural performances a mammoth event like this is a stepping stone for the more heavier arts. The very flabbergasting thing about the concert event was that the bands that performed at THE PIT were the ones who financed,conceived the gig, much to the liking of the headbangers in town. The six bands that performed were DIOTB, Sinful Oath, In Human, Chronic Xorn, Noyze Akademi and Cicatrixx . These bands are very active in the local scene and often perform at college fests and underground events.
The Pit was mega success, it saw headbangers from all over the city collect at the venue and feed their metal fetish. The City again saw the event take place in April only months after the first. This could only mean the metaheads were left wanting for more after the first in Jan.
Prasanna Singh The PR and Advisory to Cassini’s Division writes in his review of the pit, i quote
“Me being the perennial pessimist, I was expecting pit-falls and goof-ups at every corner – but no, apart from the 1 hour delayed start, I was left totally disappointed! I couldn’t lay my finger on anything”
Talking of bands you can't help but talk about Krosswindz, formed way back in 1990. Krosswindz is an accredited and empanneled band with the ICCR (INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS NEW DELHI) and are officially enlisted as a premier band of INDIA and represent INDIA in festivals abroad. Recently the band toured 6cities(Los Angeles,San Fransisco,Seattle,Atlanta,Chicago and Jersey) in the US performing at concerts and a Live Radio Broadcast 2 hour unplugged concert for San dusky Radio Seattle. Influenced by the Beatles, Santana Hendrix to name a few, the band is well known for its musical dexterity and virtuoso skills while performing. The Band can be considered as one of the pioneer groups to encourage the band movement in Calcutta. A collaboration with Mohiner Ghoraguli gave birth to the rock scene in Kolkata.The popularity of the band in the city is well known, performing regularly at festivals, colleges and gigs and also touring other countries. The band however recently made a shift from playing rock to more of ambient and fusion.The popularity of the band is increasing day by day not only back home but overseas as well.Some of the US music stores will feature the albums by Krosswindz in the coming months.
The present scene is believed to have a significant effect on the youth all over, well known for their revolutionary thinking and rebellious and inquiring disposition going back to the Bengal Renaissance. Bands like Insomnia, Cactus and others mentioned before continue to make rock and heavy metal a source of constant entertainment.
In the coming months and years the bengali babu’s will only see a rise of such acts and music forms by bands bursting with talent ready to take our breaths away.
