MUMBAI: Bangalore-Rock band Thermal and a Quarter seems to have quite a lot on its plate. After trying their hands at film-making and successfully screening ‘WFW/DFD’ this April, the trio is back to doing what they do best. While plans for a new album are in the pipeline, they are still figuring out what to do with their film. Radioandmusic.com caught up with the band’s frontman Bruce Lee Mani to know more about all that and more.
So you dabbled with filmmaking?
Yes, we have made a film, a first for the band! The film ‘WFW/DFD’ talks about being an artiste. It is our take on art and how creative people work and why they do it, and a commentary on the state of art today and how musicians and all kinds of artistes think about their work. So we have put together a set that we perform along with the screenings. These are obscure songs by bands, both known and unknown. We are paying tributes to great music. People only hear the big hits. Then again, it is difficult to make every single song a hit. We like these songs and have been playing those songs of late. It goes well with the film. Call it a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Statement” from Thermal and a Quarter.
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It was not like we sat down and decided to make a movie. We did not just start shooting, it happened quite organically. We happened to have a lot of footage with us and it looked like there was a story in it. So we got on board an editor and put the whole thing together ourselves.
When and how do you plan on releasing ‘WFW/DFD’?
We have not frozen on the release of the film. It is working well in a private screening format. We are not entirely sure how it will do if we put it up online or take it to a television channel; it has a whole lot of profanity and is quite an intense and serious film. We have not decided if and how we can do it in a mass way.
We are still fine tuning it and making a few additions. As soon as that is done, we might just take the film festival route.
Any plans for a new album?
We have done about six to seven tracks, though not recorded, just jammed. We also have a whole bunch of lyrics ready. Now, we just need to find the time, jump into a studio and lock ourselves up there for a week or so and put it together. There is a bunch of material that should get recorded soon and hopefully by the end of the year, our new album will be out.
What will be different about this TAAQ album?
This is going to be our first album with a new bass player and also in terms of the sound; there are some changes and elements we are introducing. This one is going to sound different, but will still be Bangalore Rock.
The last album was a three CD set with 28 songs. This time we do not want to put our audience through that much! This album will be a regular size.
What do you feel about Jazz in India?
Jazz is not dead, it just smells funny. That is just the way Jazz is; an acquired taste. We have played at the Jazz Festival in Jakarta and the audiences out there are amazing. The entire local community, who does not even speak English. But they all come out to enjoy the music. The problem in India is that audiences do not consistently get this kind of stuff in easily accessible places. Strange things are associated with Jazz and it is looked upon as only for a certain kind of people or that only certain kind of people can play it. If it was as easily available as Bollywood music then a lot more people would love Jazz.
