With elements of Indie rock and folk, embedded in each of the songs featured on their album, new Malayali rock band Avial has managed to mix to perfection an altogether unique sound that the band members like to call “Alternative Malayali Rock”.
The band members consist of Anandraj Benjamin Paul (vocalist), Tony John (vocalist turntables and synth), Rex Vijayan (guitar and synth), Mithun Puthanveetil (drums) and Naresh Kamath (bass guitarist).
In a chat with radioandmusic.com’s Shabana Ali, band member Tony John shares the band’s journey thus far and their plans for 2008.
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Excerpts:
Why is the band named Avial?
Avial is a Malayali dish, which is made of mixed vegetables. So Avial represents something that’s mixed or messed up. And we are a mixture of musical influences and styles ranging from folk music to classic rock.
Tell me more about your album.
Our album also called Avial, was released on 8 February and we received an overwhelming response from our fans. We call ourselves the alternative Malayali rock, which means we are different from the normal bands which are commonly heard. The tracks in our album range from a wide range of political and social issues and we present the scenario of the world around us, through folk songs.
When did you start working on the album?
We started working on 2003 and it took us five long years to come up with this album. Nada Nada is the first video that we shot and then we produced the album with Phat Phish which took us another two years.
The Nada Nada video has been liked by many viewers, but what is the message the video is trying to give out?
Nada Nada means ‘keep walking’, and the video has too much of head banging. All the video wants to convey is that everyone should keep walking, no matter what the situations are around them.
Does Avial have any competitor in the market?
We do not have market competitors as such in the market. We are the first to come up with a rock band in Malayalam. And we see the band going far in the near future.
Wasn’t it difficult to get a producer for a rock band as we can see Indian producers are not very inclined to support rock bands?
We did not have a producer when we shot our first video. Later Phat Phish liked our work and produced the album for us. This is a reason why we took five years to come up with the album.
How did Avial come into existence?
Well, if a film comes my way, I would be game for it. But then, Bollywood is the kind of thing wherein you need to be involved in its circle to excel as a composer.
Who were your inspirations for the rock band?
We listened to rock music from our childhood – the music of the 70s, 80s and the 90s, which has been an inspiration for us to come up with a rock band in Malayalam.
What are your plans for 2008?
We are looking forward to our live concerts all over the country. We will be performing live in Delhi on 24 February and on 8 March in Cochin in the Kingfisher rock fest, where 105 bands will be competing. We also have plans to perform in Mumbai, but the dates are yet to be decided.
So how long will we have to wait for your next album?
IWell, it won’t be another five years for sure. We are already done with the lyrics of the next album and we have worked on the frame work of the album so our fans can expect the next album in another one and half years.
