Outside of Bollywood, mainstream popular music in India has become almost non-existent. Shaan who started his career as a pop music star is stepping back into this space in collaboration with the band Superbia. Banding together with music director Gourav Dasgupta and music producer Roshin Balu, the trio have formed a 'super band' Superbia.
For Shaan, having established himself as a veteran in the Indian music industry, being part of a band had been on the backburner for sometime. "We had been jamming together for a long time and Gaurav was already composing. It was his idea to have me as part of this collaboration."
Having worked together on several projects, Dasgupta was in collaborating more closely with the singer. "I asked him to look at some songs that were very close to me and see what he could add to it, not just as a singer but what he could do with it. He did a lot of nice stuff and took it to the next level," he said.
The band is releasing its debut album, Satrangi, on Friday. The album's songs have been sung by Shaan with singer and songwriter Gwen Athaide. The former model, who was a finalist at Miss India 2005, met Dasgupta in the elevator of her building. "I had my percussions with me and he asked me to sing. And I didn't realise I could sing so well," she recalls. Athaide soon came on board for the album. Coming from a background of western music, she started training in Hindustani classical music while simultaneously being groomed to sing for the album by Shaan.
Interestingly, the band has taken a 360 degree approach to their music. Instead of constricting themselves to a one medium, they are looking to make their presence felt everywhere they can. From film music to ad jingles to albums and even a TV show, the band has several projects in the pipeline. According to Shaan, "It's music at the end of the day. It's composing, it's creating, whether you are doing it for a film or an ad, the process remains the same."
The band is composing music for a few films already, including Viacom's Disco Valley, Agni and Tignmanshu Dhulia's next film. They are also composing soundtrack for a TV show being directed by Gyan Correa of The Good Road fame.
Satrangi
Superbia's debut album will be distinct from its film work. Titled Satrangi, the seven track album has been sung by Shaan and Gwen, with lyrics by Manthan.
"Unlike in a film, there is no brief when you are composing for an album," says Shaan. The tracks are original songs but with a familiar phrase from well known songs, such as 'Humein Tumse Pyaar Kitna', 'Bekaraar Karke Humein Yun Na Jaiye' and 'Babuji Dheere Chalna'."
Pop albums have often taken to remixing classics from Hindi films, but these songs are not remixes says Gourav Dasgupta, "We just worked on the original and the phrases came in naturally."
This common thread runs through the album with the soundscape tending towards dark and gothic. The phrases like 'Humein Tumse Pyaar Kitna' come almost unexpectedly while retaining their familiarity. The theme has also carried onto the video of the songs which have been directed by Sajit Warrier.
Dasgupta is also careful to clarify what the gothic element in their music means. "Most people think that gothic is heavy metal but its not. It's actually very folksy music with a dark undertone that comes from a certain space in Europe. Its melancholic but very sweet melodies."
If there is a common influence for the band, it is probably 80s rock music. "But you won't get that in the album," says Shaan. "There is an organic electronic influence." Given the go-ahead from Sa Re Ga Ma to do a full album, the songs became a melting pot for various elements and genres coming together. From the several tracks they composed, seven were shortlisted for the album.
So, is the band trying bring non-film music back to the mainstream? Shaan feels that the demise of popular non-film music came from its lack of distinction from that of music from Bollywood. "Film music has taken non-film sound and made it into mainstream. For non-film music to survive in a scenario like that you have to have a sound that is different from what is going in films or else be able to compete with them in terms of budget and the largeness of a film product. The last person to make non-film music was Honey Singh. He came up with something that was not happening in films. Today, the easiest thing to do is EDM stuff."
"With the album, we feel like we can say that we have come with something different... We want to do something we haven't already done," says Dasgupta.
Superbia says it is looking to create distinct soundscapes that haven't been heard before and that films don't usually give them a space for. "For a year we have been sitting and working on stuff and created a lot of material," says Dasgupta. In the immediate pipeline is an album of guitar solos by him. The band is also hoping to perform their music to live audiences.
Superbia's will launch its album Satrangi at Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai on November 7.
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