It was a solo sound recording project that turned into a bright future for Indian independent music. That future is the music of Indigo Children
In a little corner of the India Bike Week arena, SanchalMalhar sits on the Gibson stage, with a few Les Pauls and SGs for company. Hisacoustic set – original songs written over the past few years – has a smallaudience, set to the sounds of big bikes that roar in the distance. But Malhargoes on unperturbed.
Malhar is the main brain behind a project (and band) called‘Indigo Children’, touted as one of India’s up and coming indie bands. Today,Indigo Children command attention on stage, having won Channel V’s Launchpad inthe past, besides ‘Campus Rock Idols’ in 2005.
But, before the fame and the adulation, the beginnings werequite humble and pop-oriented. “I grew up to Bollywood and The BackstreetBoys,” says Malhar, who today pens creative rhetoric. Malhar was introduced torock a little later. Once he heard Iron Maiden, his life changed. “I would saveup Rs 125 every month to buy an album by The Beatles.” Once he started playingthe guitar, he knew where his life was headed. So, he convinced his friendNikhil (now the bass player of Indigo Children) to start a band. ‘Superfuzz’was born, playing college gigs and representing their alma mater, St Columbus.
The band was influenced by the sounds of Seattle rock –Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Malfunkshun amongst others. Soon, Launchpad happened.The band was singled out as the winner and other than refusing to smash theirguitars and behave like typical rock rebels, Superfuzz were pretty much thenext big thing.
Somewhere down the line, the band changed their name toIndigo Children. Their funky basslines, poetic lyrics and grunge riffs capturedaudiences wherever they went.
Sanchal Malhar is the songwriter and the mainstay of theband, using his lyrics to carve out a niche for Indigo Children on the Indianmusic stage. “We sit down and go, ‘What do you want to say?’ I didn’t want towrite about my experiences. I just write,” he says very matter-of-factly.
Indian bands are slowly catching up to their counterparts inthe West, after establishments and labels in the country emphasised on originalmusic. The cover bands no longer get top billing, with crowds in the metrospreferring to listen to something different, something original.
“I think the bands work a little differently here. In theWest, bands go on tour, they really get to know their craft and their audience.Here it’s a few gigs now and then,” Malhar asserts.
The band has been endorsed by popular British producer, JohnLeckie and has even played at ‘The Great Escape’ festival in Brighton and ‘TheBarfly’. There’s still time for them to surpass expectations and become one ofIndia’s top-billed independent music acts.
