SHIK' sounds of electrocknica!

When seasoned veterans like Prakash K N, Premik Jolly, Siddarth Kamath and Yadhunandan Nagaraj who by the way, share over 2,000 shows between themselves, come together for a collaborative project, one thing’s certain – you won’t be disappointed.

With roots in rock and electronic, their new project called Akashic is out with their new album, Vimana. Before they can give you a listen to it on April 1 at Blue FROG, they tell us what you can expect of it.

The project has apparently been on their minds since the year 2000, when they were all into electronic music being mixed with other genres and performed live in a traditional four-piece rock outfit with drums, bass, guitar and keys.

“Like Ozric Tentacles, for instance,” explains Prakash, talking of the band that they all share their love for. The band’s multifarious members otherwise bring their own influences – everything from Solar Field and Spongle to Dream Theatre, Porcupine Tree, Chris Adler and RATM. “Our sound is a unique mix of layered pads, hypnotic synth melodies, chunky guitars and groovy drums,” adds Premik, not missing out on giving us the technical scoop.

Speaking of their latest drop, Prakash says that Vimana is a fresh experience that’s not familiar on local circuits. “The album itself is an expression of freedom to compose and record the sounds that the four of us hear in our head, as opposed to sticking to a particular sound or genre,” he says. “We know that people will get to experience a whole new approach towards electronic music which they have never seen before – a perfect amalgamation of electronic music and outstanding live musicianship is what they can take home,” adds Yadhunandan.

Incidentally, rock music enthusiasts go as far to say that electronica is nothing but a push of a button, but Prakash and Premik field it expertly. “I do that too – when I see a DJ play a CD and wave his hands up and down at the crowd,” quips Prakash. “But in our case, we are armed with a bass guitar, acoustic drums, electric guitars and synths. The only buttons that we might press is to change patches from our processors!” he says.

Premik, who has his own studio in the city called Area 51 Productions, plays the lead guitar for one of Bengaluru’s oldest metal bands, Threinody and produces electronic and psychedelic music under his moniker Prematron, adds, “The art of it all is knowing what the buttons and knobs do and how to push them or twist them at the right time.”  

As they prep for the launch, they reveal that their second album is already in the works. “We also have a lot of collaborations with Indian and international musicians planned, and we’d like to tour and hit the international festival circuit next year,” they add in conclusion.