MUMBAI: After more than a decade, Hariharan and Lesle Lewis known together as ‘Colonial Cousins’ have launched their studio album ‘Colonial Cousins Once More’ -their fourth- that delves in India’s pop sounds of the past for Gen Y. While the formula remains the same, the approach has differed.
The difference being the band dug into the past to forge ahead musically and win over new fans.
“Our earlier albums were about presenting the ‘West’ to India. The new album is presenting the ‘Indian’ sound to the new generation. The central theme of the album is the title itself- ‘more of the same’ for our fans that have waited all this time. But the album is also meant for the new generation who has grown up on new sounds. Gen Y has never heard our work 10-12 years ago, let alone the Hindi pop viz. Bollywood music, of 30 years back. Today, Bollywood is very hip and western and most of the young people have never experienced the old tunes,” Lewis told Radioandmusic.com (RnM).
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Influences in terms of tunes and beats are varied- from the hilly-folk feel of ‘Bichhua’ (from the film ‘ Madhumati’) to the heavy rock sound of the lead single ‘Kaise Samjhaye’ that employ only Indian beats and not the expected rock drum based rhythm. The seven songs of the album are a well-rounded blend of genres ranging from rock, blues, soul all coming together in a effortless mix of Indian and western style.
“There are no specific responsibilities of who writes the tune or the lyrics. One comes with a tune or a line, the other builds it up. We want to connect and take our music to the people. Our sound is still totally organic with no effects and a lot of ‘back to the roots’ feel. Our evolvement is in incorporating more melody after we have tapped deep into our Indian roots where we grew up from.”
The duo is making a video for their single from the footage of their album release (26 October) done on a back of a truck driven from the city’s Jogger’s Park to the Promenade in Bandra which was captured by six cameras.
To launch their latest album, the duo took to the jostling promenade of Carter Road in the busy suburb of Bandra, Mumbai, in a musical ensemble from Otters Club to the amphitheater, all along performing music from their new album on top of a 40 foot canter. The performance brought out fans galore from all around who came to watch the singers. The event concluded with the official unveiling of album ‘Colonial Cousins Once More’.
Lewis said, “We feel that the time is right to do this and there is a great platform right now for independent artists to really flourish. The launch is a great concept and we had a lot of fun doing it. We really wanted our fans to be a part of the music video and we did it for the people by the people.”
The band is also mulling a tour to support Once More that is available in both physical and digital formats on Universal Music.
“We want our music to feel like the first shower after a long summer,” Lewis added.
The two have had three successful career albums, with their last work in 2001 with the release of ‘Aatma’ post which they went on to explore and flourish in their own individual careers. They attribute the long break to lack of time, having been caught up with their own projects over the last decade. Now, 11 years later, they have come together to release their brand new album ‘Colonial Cousins Once More’.
