Rock The Canvas

Bengaluru-based alternative music band,The Bicycle Days’ (TBD) art work for their maiden EP was as colour-soaked and energetic as their music. Vocalist Karthik Basker was initially inspired to commission an art work inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy one-and-a-half years back. “It is a good medium to represent us and our music,” he feels. The brilliantly multi-coloured image is both smart and unrefined at the same time. “It’s a lot personal sometimes,and universal as well. It is about our state of mind,and also the meaning of our songs,” he says.

While bands like TBD may employ one,or even multiple,artists for their art work,some band have members themselves producing intimate sketches of their work. Gaurav Basu,vocalist of the metal band Inner Sanctum,puts pen to paper often to bring out solid portrayals of their music,and does illustrations for other bands as well. The edgy works often adorn posters and flyers,and become symbols of their heavy music. “It adds another element to our music,” agrees Chintan Chinnappa,guitarist. “We try to have a different poster or flyer for every show and give it to the organisers to add a personal touch. I think bands don’t understand that the experience has to be audio-visual. Album covers are as important as the songs inside.” Bengaluru-based alternative rock band Lounge Piranha too has often led the way in introducing images that represent their music.

Artistic experimentation for Pune-based bands is limited to album covers mostly,though heavy metal bands often inspire more creative morphings of their title posters and logos. Fan art though is a limited activity. Hysteria,a store that sells official music and film merchandise,is a rare spot to pick up framed fan art of specific bands. Basker feels that the challenges of surviving in the music industry,and also a lot of abysmal writing,has prevented band art from taking wings. Mumbai-based musician Pratik Pathak however feels that the inclusion of art will mean a musical “experience”. “It reflects tremendously in what the band does and believes in; rather than just selling a CD in a crystal case.”