Dust Storm

Lee Ranaldo,a veteran American guitarist,introduces his new band Lee Ranaldo and The Dust to India

By the late 70s,the Vietnam war and Summer of Love were over in America. Swirling across the country was a residue of discontent,touching every sphere of life,especially art and music. People expressed their angst in multiple voices,and music genres such as noise rock were born. These songs were angry and heavy

in bass and lyrics. Among the bands that headlined this genre was a New York-based quartet called Sonic Youth.

The names of their albums hint at their kind of music Dirty,Confusion is Sex and A Thousand Leaves. Lee Ranaldo,Steve Shelley,Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon released 15 such albums in 28 years,and gained cult status before splitting in 2011. Ive wanted to visit India for 10 years. I would have loved it if I were here as part of Sonic Youth. This will be fun too, says guitarist Ranaldo,now a white-haired 57-year-old,over samosas on the terrace garden of Saraswati College of Music last week.

Ranaldo,voted by many music magazines as one of the greatest guitarists of all times,is touring India with his new band,Lee Ranaldo and The Dust.

Ranaldos new band comprises old band-mate Shelley on drums,guitarist Alan Licht and bassist Tim Lüntze. The four will release their debut album,Last Night on Earth in October. The album,with its dark title,is not all about the end of the world but is a creative outburst of Ranaldos experience of feeling helpless when Hurricane

Sandy struck the US last October.

As part of Sonic Youth,all four of us wrote songs together but here,I am doing all the songwriting. Musically,our influences are similar but this is a bit more traditional, he says. Apart from spearheading the noise rock revolution,Sonic Youth also stood out for the unconventional guitar riffs that the band produced using drum sticks,screwdrivers and violin bows. None of this was gimmicky. We just wanted certain sounds and thats why we tuned our guitars funny. We were trying to do things differently with The Dust, says Ranaldo.

Apart from headlining the Ziro Music Festival yesterday in Arunachal Pradesh,the band will perform at Blue Frog in Delhi on September 25 . While the line-up comprises songs from Last Night on Earth,Ranaldo promises a few obscure Sonic Youth tracks. We didnt want to rely on past glories for the new album, he says.

Story continues below this ad

As he reminisces about his Sonic Youth days,Ranaldo talks about one milestone. About a decade ago,we toured with (Canadian singer-songwriter) Neil Young. That was the defining moment of our lives as a band, he says.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...