Bumpy,Nuclear Ride

They don’t like being labelled as a fusion band,even though their music blurs the lines between classical,Carnatic and jazz. “We’d rather describe our music style as an exploration of the various layers of human emotions,” says Mainak ‘Bumpy’ Nag Chowdhury,founder and bassist of band Kendraka. The band travelled to the city from West Bengal for a gig at High Spirits over the weekend. They played songs to a packed house from their latest album The Candy Album that was released on February 29. The Candy Album combines elements of folk music,jazz,Indian classical and Carnatic music.

Formed four years ago,Kendraka means ‘nucleus’. “We wanted to make music for ourselves — showcase the emotions we went through in our lives. People connected to this,” says Chowdhury. The band members include Chowdhury,guitarist Bodhisattwa Ghosh,drummer Jivraj Satya Singh,flautist Soumyajyoti Ghosh and guitarist Nishad Pandey. The group worked on this album for almost a year. “We wanted to take it slow so that each element sounded right,” says Chowdhury. It seems to have worked for them. When they played their track – 27 Steps to Chaos – there was pin drop silence,followed by a burst of applause. “Post our performance,people actually came to us and shared how some of their own experiences had found expression through our music,” Chowdhury narrates. This was the fourth time the band played in Pune and this time,it recorded the highest turnout.

As the conversation veers back to different styles of music,Chowdhury explains,”We haven’t come close to exploring even one genre of music in depth. That’s why we don’t like being called a fusion band. Such a band should know every aspect of the music it plays.” They remain in awe of the vastness of Indian music. “Be it Hindustani or Carnatic,we are still wading through tried and tested waters. We’re still exploring genres. This journey is our main emphasis. It is not a means to reach a goal,but the goal itself,” he adds.

Kendraka is currently on a nationwide tour to promote the album. Gigs in Bangladesh,Malaysia and the UK will follow. “Work on our next album begins in May. We’d like a couple of international artistes to contribute,” Chowdhury says.