MUMBAI: They have enthralled music aficionados in India since their inception in 2000, and amid the changing landscape of rock and metal in India, Delhi-based alternative rock stalwarts Them Clones believe that the “scene has become more organised and structured”.
Over the years, the band – a quartet including Prithwish Dev on vocals, Joseph Lalhmachhuana on guitars, Akshay Raheja on keyboards/samples and Surojit Dev on drums – has witnessed changes galore.
“The scene has become more organised and structured. Proper spots hosting these gigs have their calendars worked out months in advance. There is representation for the bands. We get to use the latest gear. There has been a 50 percent strike rate of gigs starting and ending at the right time and there are managements holding the duties for the band,” said Surojit.
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There’s one complaint.
“We do not think that bands make as much as they should be making. Our scene has not yet produced rags-to-riches act, which would be interesting to see,” he said.
The band, which is gearing up to commemorate its 15th anniversary with a celebratory gig on Thursday, says it is bringing back some key songs, which it used to perform earlier.
“We are looking at tunes from older catalogue which technically defined our journey,” Surojit said on behalf of his band members.
The gig, which will take place at Hard Rock Cafe, Gurgaon, will also feature other musicians from the rock circuit.
“We have invited a few friends of ours from the scene to play with us: Nitin and Sonam (Parikrama), Nikhil Rufus Raj (Superfuzz), Jayant aka Jitter (DJ), Vasu (Adil & Vasundhara), Abhay (Soul’d out) and Suhail (Advaita).
“Aditi Singh Sharma gave us a complete surprise by staying back in Delhi and being there for the show. We are really looking forward to the night,” he said.
The band, whose last release ‘Season 2 Singles’ came out in 2013, is now looking forward to releasing new music after two years.
“On newer material, we wanted to hold back and release a full catalogue eventually and drop a single. Having said that, yes, there would be new releases.
“To be honest, we were contemplating whether to continue as a unit. Secondly, we have been choosy about our gigs, particularly last year. When we started out, we would play any and every show irrespective of the remuneration. Now we don’t do that,” the band said.
In a new turn of events, the band is also in talks with filmmaker Sanjay Gupta for a project.
“We have closed about eight new tunes for our new catalogue. We want to create more and touch about 20 and then take a call for the final 10 to be on the new album. Commercial projects are on once in a while. In fact, talks are on with director Sanjay Gupta. That’s all we can say right now,” the band said.
