In an ever-evolving music industry, artists are constantly exploring newer ways to connect with their audience. Thanks to digital platforms, especially audio OTT, music releases have undergone a paradigm shift. However, amidst all the changes in the way music is distributed, the essence of the music itself remains unchanged. This is true for Indian Ocean too. The folk fusion band has just released a new six-track album on all major streaming platforms, after a nine-year hiatus. In an interview with Storyboard18, Rahul Ram reflects on the band’s three-decade musical journey, their latest album, OTT releases, making reels and more.
Excerpts
Indian Ocean has been captivating audiences for over 30 years. How has your music evolved over the years and what have been some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the Indian music industry?
The first album actually had almost no lyrics, no vocals. There were maybe 40 seconds of vocals in a 40 to 45 minutes’ album. The second album Desert Rain in 1997, had a slightly stronger or higher proportion of vocals. Over the years we have also added different instruments, such as Amit Kilam’s gubgubi, the clarinet has made its appearance in a few songs, the sax has made an appearance in a few songs. We’ve also become a much tighter band, rhythm section wise. Our stage act has evolved. But the sound remains more or less identifiable as Indian Ocean. I don’t know how to define it in non-musical terms. But when you hear an Indian Ocean song, whether it was from 1997 or 2023, you pretty much know that ‘Hey, that’s Indian Ocean’ and that’s one of the most fantastic things for a band to have. An instantly identifiable sound. And I don’t see any reason to change it.
With the release of your eighth album ‘Tu Hai’ on all major streaming platforms, how does it feel to be releasing an album primarily on OTT platforms? What has been the biggest challenge in making this transition?
In this era of streaming, the process of releasing music has become more accessible, which is why we have not released with a label this time around. Releasing music primarily on these platforms can provide a wider reach and exposure to a global audience, as compared to earlier platforms like physical copies of CDs, tapes or vinyl.
One of the biggest challenges in making this transition is adapting to the new business models of streaming. Revenue is primarily generated through streaming royalties, which are calculated based on the number of plays or streams, and are often distributed through digital distributors and aggregators. Visibility on platforms then becomes a big focus.
How is the marketing strategy for ‘Tu Hai’ different from your previous album releases? Are you exploring any new marketing techniques or platforms that you haven’t used before?
Having released music across eras, it’s a whole new world for us. We’re slowly growing our digital footprint and enjoying it to the fullest. Our social media channels have been refreshed with content along with our YouTube channel. The enthusiasm of our audience and the platforms alike excites each one of us.
We’re exploring techniques as we go, be it working with friends who are creators, creating an animated music video (Jaadu Maaya) or even making reels!
Tu Hai pays tribute to your long-standing commitment to sustainability and the environment. Can you talk more about this and how it is reflected in the album’s themes and messaging?
I think as musicians and artists and just people living at this moment in time, on earth, we have no choice but to think about sustainability and environment and climate change. Now, admittedly, these are such big topics. Rather than feeling inspired one gets the feeling of a losing battle, one feels individually helpless and lonely. So it just becomes a thing where we are talking about it and agreeing and nodding along. But we still have to be on top of this train of progress. It’s like you’re forced to compete and cooperate in a game that we know all of us will ultimately lose.
Coming back to Tu Hai. There was, frankly, no conscious effort to talk about this. But as we kept writing songs as musicians, that’s what we do. We sit and we jam and now and then, we’ll find a poetry piece of poetry that inspires us or find a lyricist who will write words we resonate with, and when we put the songs in order, and thought about what this album will say, I think all of us agreed that there is really nothing else to talk about, right now.
We can sure get busy in our little wars, fights and disagreements and our tribal instincts, they get the better of us every day on social media, but we wanted to bring attention to a fact that was much bigger than any of the things we seem to be occupied and concerned about.
It’s not like we are coming from some place high up above, and commenting on what we see, we are all a part of life, given to its failings and trappings but we thought taking a moment to pause and reflect and give our listeners something to digest not in this neat consumable digestible attention deficit singles or Reels or short attention span games. But to put the album out as a statement, where people can listen to it and experience it and think about it. Maybe see what it does to them and hear back from them.
Now, we are very modest about what our art does. We don’t believe we can change people or their ways. It’s just as creative people and artists and being lucky to be doing what we are, we just reflect on the times we live in, and hopefully people resonate with it.
Over the years, music has become an integral part of brand marketing. Are you’ll working/open to work with any brands?
We have been privileged to be working with brands constantly over the course of our careers. We’ve made jingles for Pan-India and international brands across categories, performed for their launches and internal events regularly and have even collaborated with Signature Green Vibes for the Tu Hai release and tour.