Bloody Good

Perhaps they do. At the Hard Rock Cafe in Mumbai,where Pentagram kicked off its five-city tour last week,the floorboards creaked under pressure,as the fans — who were nearly filling the place up to capacity — jumped up and down to songs,new and old.

Most clamoured for songs from Bloody wood. One part of the room screamed for Nocturne,another yelled for Tomorrow’s Decided,and a small portion demanded another performance of the exuberant Lovedrug Climbdown. In response,guitarist Randolph Correia stood at the edge of the stage,egging the crowd to jump higher,clap louder. Drummer Shiraz Bhattacharya energised the stage and the crowd,while bassist Papal Mane abandoned his customary restraint,shaking his head to the music. Dadlani,the most arresting presence on stage,leaped around in his Clockwork Orange t-shirt,and yelled out breathlessly,as the concert came to a close,“Thanks to all who made it here!”

When the foursome got together in 1994,and performed original material,they provided a refreshing jolt to the lacklustre indie Indian music scene then,filled with bands who mostly performed covers. In 1995,their electrified brand of progressive rock helped them win Livewire,the annual band competition at IIT-Bombay,after which they landed a record deal with Plus Music. This resulted in We Are Not Listening,an album which sold extremely well.

Their reputation firmly established,the band went on to produce three more albums. Up,released in 2002,marked a clear shift in the band’s approach. Their music showed the beginnings of the electro-rock that would go on to define the band’s sound. Next,in 2007,came It’s OK,It’s All Good,featuring the anthemic Voice (with a memorable video that featured clips of fans singing along to the song). This album was perhaps not as well-received as the previous ones,but with the release of their fourth studio effort this year,the band has proved that they’re still a force to reckon with on the indie scene.

“People whose opinions matters to me are saying that this is the best Indian rock record ever,” says Dadlani,the band’s vocalist. This might sound like an immodest claim to make,but critics seem to agree. They have already declared the album to be the band’s most mature one to date. It has their signature electronic edge,big beats and infectiously loud riffs. But unlike before,when the use of samples sometimes overwhelmed other elements,especially the vocals,this time around,each element is equally audible. Correia considers it the most instinctive of all their albums,as it took a mere three months to come together. “Over a period of time,you come to accept who you are,” he says. “As a band,we’ve sort of developed into an organism. A lot of the songs and music just flowed,without any contrivance. We were just letting ourselves be. With the earlier albums,we felt the need to push,because people weren’t pushing enough. But now that we have this whole scene,we’re taking it easy and just making music the way we want to.”

The effort has resulted in an album that,as Dadlani says,is inspired by their city,Mumbai,and the people they’ve known. Take Tomorrow’s Decided,with the opening drums so sharply reminiscent of the Nashik dhol,an essential part of every festive celebration in the city. Or even the upbeat,sarcasm-laden Mental Zero,which is already on its way to becoming the next big “anthem” for the band,after Voice. Or listen to the melancholy Nocturne,an ode to the city that doesn’t sleep and doesn’t let you sleep either. “It’s the quintessential Mumbai song,” says Dadlani,who wrote the lyrics to all the songs. And yet,Bloodywood is also a tribute to the independent music scene in India — a scene that Pentagram formed and nurtured,just as it formed and nurtured them. “Many boundaries have been crossed over the time that we’ve been playing,” muses Dadlani. “When we first started playing original music,it was difficult. Now,there are many more bands playing great original content. I would like to believe we have something to do with that.”

The name of the album itself is an obvious reference to Bollywood,the behemoth that dominates music in the country to the detriment of practically all other alternate music. (It is also,incidentally,an industry that Dadlani is part of,along with Shekhar Ravjiani. The duo is known as Vishal-Shekhar,and is responsible for,among others,last year’s monster hit,Sheila ki jawani.) He says,“Everyone knows that in Mumbai,there exists this huge film industry. Its infamous nickname is Bollywood. Inhabiting the same time and space as Bollywood is an entirely alternate lifestyle,with a different culture,thought process,where music is made not commercially,but for creativity’s sake. The fact that these two contrasting cultures exist together is great and that is where the name comes from.”

It’s not easy for a band to stay together for as long as 17 years. What is the glue that keeps them together? “Love for music,” says Correia,while Dadlani adds,“The most important fact is that there’s no pressure. We do things our way,everybody loves and respects everybody else. We’ve gone beyond the fights and the arguments. Nobody is trying to change anybody in this band.” So while they all work together as Pentagram,they also take on other projects,independent of the band. Dadlani has his Bollywood projects,Correia has his work as one half of Shaa’ir + Func,and Bhattcharya and Mane have both played with Shkabang. Creative freedom might have something to do with the band’s longevity. As Correia says,“It’s like any relationship. You have to do your own thing,or you’ll get sick of each other.”