Mokha: Up, Close and Personal.
Publication: Woman's Era
Formed in a coffee shop in November 1995, Moksha, Moksha was the only Asian band to be featured on an Iron Maiden tribute album. Moksha draws its influences from great bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Mr. Big, Extreme, Van Halen, Europe…well who doesn’t. Satriani and Vai also contribute vastly to Moksha’s sound. (Courtesy: www.moksha.addr.com)
Puja: Is it difficult for an Indian rock band to promote them selves and be recognized at par with international bands?
Moksha: I don’t think that promoting one’s own band is very difficult. Since rock music is all about live performances that is one of the biggest promotions in itself. One or two good live performances are sure to start getting a band recognized. The rock competitions at the college cultural fests are a surefire way to get you recognized. But it’s all self-promotion.
To be on par with international bands, the marketing blitz has to happen. That as we all know, doesn’t happen. Videos play a major role in making foreign bands popular.
Basically what I’m saying is that as long as recording companies don’t throw their weight behind rock bands, Rock will never attain the status that foreign bands do. Lets all remember that all foreign bands are good. Most of the rock bands on the channels now are absolute crap, but enjoy success because they are marketed amazingly.
Puja: What do you think is the Indian Rock scene for the moment?? Do you see any progress?
Moksha: There has been tremendous progress in the last 5 years. The amount of bands playing their own music has risen drastically. But at the same time the audience likes to listen to covers of their favorite bands for the simple reason that they are familiar. It’s like being caught between the devil ad the deep blue sea. You never know whether to play covers or your own stuff. You play your own songs and run the risk of the audience getting frustrated because they’re not familiar with the songs. (No videos! No Album promotions! Etc). You play covers and you run the risk of incurring the wrath of the rock band community. You get accused of all kinds of things. But your audience loves you. You are labeled a sell-out by fellow rockers. Then again you need the audience to make rock music a real success in India. It’s frustrating. So you have to give them a mix of both. You still manage to offend some people, but till the day people see Indian rock bands on television regularly, this will be the situation.
Puja: Would you recommend youngsters to join the rock scene and is it commercially viable?
Moksha: Yes we need more and more people to be in bands. It’s a situation where it’s not commercially viable so no one wants to join it. But it will never become viable unless more and more people take to it. Opera was never commercially viable until people like Luciano Pavarotti decided to take it to the common man by putting it on television. You have to create a situation that makes it viable. So unless more and more people start to be in bands it will never become viable.
Puja: What is the essence of Indian rock?
Moksha: I honestly don’t understand this concept of Indian rock. Because I believe that rock music is rock music all over the world. And adding Indian instruments doesn’t make it India rock. No matter what some people might say. And taking our fantastic tribal tunes and setting them to guitars doesn’t make it rock either. That’s what I call remixing. The only way I could classify Indian rock is the way I look at it. And I see myself dealing with Indian subjects and topics, or just the way I, as an Indian, see the world. So whether I’m the subject is war or peace or love or hate, it will be my very own perspective. And I can’t see myself separate from India.
Puja: How would you define Indian rock, and where does Moksha fit it?
Moksha: I think I defined Indian rock in earlier. I think its fair to say that only a very few bands in India have managed to make a mark without being Xerox copies of foreign bands. (And God knows we have hundreds of them!!! Some of them are so blatant that it’s funny)
I think MOKSHA fits into that handful of bands because we’ve never tried to make a song that sounds like an extension of some foreign band you hear on the television or on your CD player
Puja: What is Moksha all about in 3 words?
Moksha: Music. Passion. Peace.
Puja: Last words for Moksha fans would be...
Moksha: Keep the faith...And buy the album when it’s out, which will be very soon.
(c) 2004 Puja Goyal
Puja: Is it difficult for an Indian rock band to promote them selves and be recognized at par with international bands?
Moksha: I don’t think that promoting one’s own band is very difficult. Since rock music is all about live performances that is one of the biggest promotions in itself. One or two good live performances are sure to start getting a band recognized. The rock competitions at the college cultural fests are a surefire way to get you recognized. But it’s all self-promotion.
To be on par with international bands, the marketing blitz has to happen. That as we all know, doesn’t happen. Videos play a major role in making foreign bands popular.
Basically what I’m saying is that as long as recording companies don’t throw their weight behind rock bands, Rock will never attain the status that foreign bands do. Lets all remember that all foreign bands are good. Most of the rock bands on the channels now are absolute crap, but enjoy success because they are marketed amazingly.
Puja: What do you think is the Indian Rock scene for the moment?? Do you see any progress?
Moksha: There has been tremendous progress in the last 5 years. The amount of bands playing their own music has risen drastically. But at the same time the audience likes to listen to covers of their favorite bands for the simple reason that they are familiar. It’s like being caught between the devil ad the deep blue sea. You never know whether to play covers or your own stuff. You play your own songs and run the risk of the audience getting frustrated because they’re not familiar with the songs. (No videos! No Album promotions! Etc). You play covers and you run the risk of incurring the wrath of the rock band community. You get accused of all kinds of things. But your audience loves you. You are labeled a sell-out by fellow rockers. Then again you need the audience to make rock music a real success in India. It’s frustrating. So you have to give them a mix of both. You still manage to offend some people, but till the day people see Indian rock bands on television regularly, this will be the situation.
Puja: Would you recommend youngsters to join the rock scene and is it commercially viable?
Moksha: Yes we need more and more people to be in bands. It’s a situation where it’s not commercially viable so no one wants to join it. But it will never become viable unless more and more people take to it. Opera was never commercially viable until people like Luciano Pavarotti decided to take it to the common man by putting it on television. You have to create a situation that makes it viable. So unless more and more people start to be in bands it will never become viable.
Puja: What is the essence of Indian rock?
Moksha: I honestly don’t understand this concept of Indian rock. Because I believe that rock music is rock music all over the world. And adding Indian instruments doesn’t make it India rock. No matter what some people might say. And taking our fantastic tribal tunes and setting them to guitars doesn’t make it rock either. That’s what I call remixing. The only way I could classify Indian rock is the way I look at it. And I see myself dealing with Indian subjects and topics, or just the way I, as an Indian, see the world. So whether I’m the subject is war or peace or love or hate, it will be my very own perspective. And I can’t see myself separate from India.
Puja: How would you define Indian rock, and where does Moksha fit it?
Moksha: I think I defined Indian rock in earlier. I think its fair to say that only a very few bands in India have managed to make a mark without being Xerox copies of foreign bands. (And God knows we have hundreds of them!!! Some of them are so blatant that it’s funny)
I think MOKSHA fits into that handful of bands because we’ve never tried to make a song that sounds like an extension of some foreign band you hear on the television or on your CD player
Puja: What is Moksha all about in 3 words?
Moksha: Music. Passion. Peace.
Puja: Last words for Moksha fans would be...
Moksha: Keep the faith...And buy the album when it’s out, which will be very soon.
(c) 2004 Puja Goyal
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