Susmit Sen Chronicles; A call of the ocean

Hyderabad: It’s been nothing short of an oceanic odyssey for the maverick Susmit Sen  in the musical milieu.

The former co-founder of the iconic band Indian Ocean had earlier made news for parting ways with the unit and now the musician collated his new ensemble, the Susmit Sen Chronicles. Speaking about bidding adieu to Indian Ocean last year after a long association of 23 years, Sen cited the inevitability factor behind the break-up. “Well, it was bound to happen. For 23 monsoons is a long time and one has to live, move on and chart out more seas,” explains the guitarist extraordinaire.

The line-up of Susmit Sen Chronicles features Varun on the tabla, Anirban Ghosh on the bass guitar, Nikhil Vasudevan in the percussion segment, vocalists Amit Sharma and Sudhir Rikhari, apart from the frontman Susmit Sen on the guitar. Another pleasing tidbit to music-lovers’ ears is that the outfit has launched its latest album, Ocean to Ocean. So does the name have any reference to the former band? “No,” stresses Susmit, adding: “The album unfolds a coalition with Bernie Marsden, the former guitarist of the 70s’ iconic English rockband, Whitesnake. He was instrumental in offering the album’s name, Ocean to Ocean which we all gleefully lapped up.”

Susmit also points out that the album comprises tracks that have been in the works for over a decade. “There were a few pieces which were in the making for over an extended period. So, when the band assembled last year, we immediately got cracking on this album. See, to start from scratch is not easy, but I would like to give full credit to all my bandmates for infusing the freshness-vitality-and-enthusiasm quotient into this project,” he acknowledges. Incidentally, the song, Bongingon has seamlessly blended with the tunes of ace Hungarian accordion maestro Orosz Zoltan, he says. For netizens’ convenience, the numbers are freely available for downloading from iTunes, Songdew and other digital platforms.

Susmit adds that working with the rockstar was a magical experience for him. “I first met Bernie in France at a guitar fest. There he was introduced to my music and we hit it off instantly. As a result, we jammed together at two gigs in Mumbai and Delhi. We took our camaraderie forward when he later came to my studio in the capital to record the title-track, Ocean to Ocean. It was a humbling experience to say the least,” he raves about the artiste.

“Fact is, when you think about electric guitarists, you instinctively tend to imagine that they would use a lot of equipment. But Bernie just plugged his guitar to a small amplifier in the studio and the sounds he generated out of it were simply awesome! That’s when I realised that the tune is in your hands,” Sen says.
Didn’t the sages say that learning your craft is a never-ending process!