With an explosion of indie acts, a Hindi rock band is not out of place anymore in today’s musical landscape. The Mumbai based band ‘Wajood’ is probably an exception that proves the point. The band was formed like any other Western rock band wouldbe formed- except the fact that they play their songs in Hindi.
Radioandmusic.com caught up with the band in-between their shows for an inside view on what’s it means to have a Hindi band and its philosophy.
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How did you guys come together? And what does the name mean?
Wajood is Urdu for ‘Existence’. The band was formed when Faraz and Sahil collaborated on the former’s original composition ‘Yaad’ (the song we always start our set with). When we were offered to play live in December at Aakarshan, the college festival of MMK College, Bandra is when Mohit stepped in on the drums and consequently a few months later Sharukh stepped in to play bass.
Hindi pop segment is dominated by dance/ fast beats and peppy lyric etc. Rock is usually associated with English songs- So where does Hindi rock music fit?
There has been a paradigm shift in the concept that Hindi music is all about bhangra and dance. If one observes, even Bollywood has had to bow in front of rock music more or less. Rock is not only a genre, it’s a lifestyle. The language is simply the icing on the cake. We don’t think any other genre can depict human emotions and life events as rock music does. It can be hard, aggressive and yet on the flipside be mellow and deep. So it fits in just perfect alongside with bhangra and electro music. Probably elbows them out a bit to stand out.
Is there a sizable audience for Hindi rock? Can you tell us the profile- age group/ socio-economic status etc?
Due to the onslaught of rock music in Bollywood everyone has actually given it a conscious ear instead of shunning it so it’s safe to say that there is a sizable audience. We’ve played in front of a plethora of audiences- all ranging from college students to senior citizens and have been appreciated. There are some fans who have actually traveled all the way to Navi Mumbai for our gigs despite having time constraints i.e. curfews at home and its such a humbling experience knowing they have come to watch and listen to Wajood. They are just so full of energy that while playing live we feed off of them and they feed off of us Its another high, honestly.
Can you share your live gig schedule? Is it your own show or you’re opening for other acts etc.
Our concert usually lasts for a time frame of 40 minutes to an hour plus. We started off playing covers but now are more inclined towards playing our original compositions. We still do incorporate a couple of covers in our set so as to get the new audiences out of their shell and sing along with us though. We’ve headlined college festivals and have opened for two international acts and a prominent Indian band as well.
Does the band pay for the expenses and time invested?
At the end of the day its business which needs various investments. Getting acclaimed at a domestic and internationally would be a dream of any rock band. We’d love to stretch our wings and explore new horizons and play to a new face every day of our lives. As of now we’re taking things one day at a time due to commitments but our road map looks pretty good.
Any advice to budding musicians or those trying to form a band?
Practice, as a band and as individual musicians which is thefundamental rule and it is what helps you keep your game faces on when playing live or in the studio. We feel that musicians with similar musical tastes don’t get too far as a band because the sound spectrum gets very monotonous eventually. The more the influences the better.
Another advice would be to believe in the material you write and compose and be confident about it because if you yourself aren’t confident then the world can be a pretty cruel place.
Anything you’d like to add.
We just want to thank our parents for supporting us considering it does require a lot of patience on their end too while we’re trying to make a mark. A big fat thank you and the biggest hug goes out to the people who are always there in the front row of every gig we play at cheering us and since we believe in saving the best for last… Our audience… We wouldn’t have found our Wajood had it not been for you all.
