INTERVIEW with STEELRUSH

Posted by ims on July 15, 2016

SteelRush, a melodic hard rock band based in Bhopal got together with a motive to bring back the melodic 80’s rock- the primary influence on their sound. With melodic guitar solos and catchy hooks, SteelRush intends to give the listener a taste of classic melodic rock in all its glory, while maintaining originality. The band was formed in 2011, fueled by a mutual interest in 80’s rock, when Aham and Apoorv met. After an array of lineup changes, SteelRush decided that it was best to continue writing their music as a two-piece band, while performing with session players when they went live. Indian Metal Scene recently had a chat with Aham and Apoorv where they spoke about their upcoming EP ‘Through The Night’, music, journey and much more. Here’s the conversation:

SteelRush - Through The night COVER

IMS: Please introduce yourselves. How did you decide to form SteelRush?

SteelRush: We’re a two piece melodic rock band. We have Aham on guitars and Apoorv on vocals. We have known each other for quite some time and it was simply the mutual interest in melodic rock that made us form the band.

IMS: Please tell us a bit about your songwriting. Is a SteelRush song more of a narrative composition establishing a certain idea, or is it more musical with riffs and grooves in the best suited structure?

SteelRush: We don’t think we sway to any of the extremes. Yes, the songs do revolve around a certain idea, in fact our upcoming EP “Through The Night” has a lot of recurring themes and ideas. But then we don’t let the idea take it’s toll on the musical part of the song.

IMS: You clearly draw inspiration from old school hard rock. Tell us a bit about how your music explores new dimensions around its classic roots.

SteelRush: Our song writing mostly starts off in a very humble way on an acoustic guitar. We don’t visualize our songs in the grand 80’s manner as it eventually turns out. So even though our production makes us sound very retro, the music and the lyrics stay true and hopefully original enough for people to like.

IMS: Please tell us a bit about your musical influences- as a band as well as individual influences each of you brings in it. What do you consider the most influential works in the genre you play?

SteelRush: There are loads of bands that we both listen to, like Europe, Journey, Toto etc. And apart from the obvious, Apoorv also listens to a lot of power metal and Aham likes to listen to other classic bands such as the Ramones, Rush and The Replacements etc. Well it’s an endless list really. As far as the most influential work goes, we think it has to be the album ‘Hysteria’ by Def Leppard. The success that this album had, proves that people tend to not care about the genre if the music is good enough.

IMS: Do you wish to establish any ideology through your music?

SteelRush: We don’t let an idea restrict our musical freedom. It all depends on the context of the music. Also, we try to keep ourselves from making songs just to showcase our abilities. We try to keep everything simple, just how we like it. For us, lesser is better. Which we’d say is pretty rare these days.

IMS: Tell us a bit about your upcoming EP ‘Through The Night’. Is there anything you want to present that hasn’t been heard before?

SteelRush: ‘Through The Night’ is a 4 track EP which is coming out very soon. We’ve tried to make it as melodic and catchy as we could. It involves loud drums and catchy choruses. And though we are heavily influenced by the bands from the 80s, we think it’ll be something new and fresh to the current rock/metal scene in India.

IMS: How has the recording experience been?

SteelRush: The recording process was kind of uncommon. There was a lot of travelling, file sharing and phone calls involved. Aham recorded the guitar and the bass tracks at his home studio in Bhopal, along with programming the drums and the MIDI keyboards. And then we recorded the vocals in a studio in Pune. It sometimes got a little hectic we would say, but it was a great learning process. We absolutely love doing this.

IMS: Tell us a bit about your lyrical themes? What importance do you attach to words?

SteelRush: Apoorv is the sole lyricist of the band. Our lyrical themes revolve around making a big deal out of seemingly unimportant things. I’ve always thought that conveying complex emotions using simple words trumps doing things the other way round. As with our approach towards many things, we don’t try to get super fancy with stuff, and it applies to our lyrics as well.

IMS: How do you perceive hard rock? Do you believe that your sound in itself is self-sufficient, or are there ideas or experiences which you seek to communicate which led you as artists to choose this genre particularly?

SteelRush: Running the risk of sounding very clichéd, we would say that hard rock for us is an extension to our identity. We think a lot of us would agree that rock or metal or any kind of music one is passionate about, serves as a great hide out. Also, we never decided to ‘choose’ a genre, it all came naturally to us. In other words, you don’t choose melodic rock, melodic rock chooses you!

IMS: Do you draw any non-musical influences into your music- literature, movies, etc.

SteelRush: Aham is pretty fond of old school movies like The Breakfast Club, The Karate Kid, The Outsiders etc. They all have really nice soundtracks as well. And also, he loves to cook. And Apoorv loves to learn random stuff ranging from economics to philosophy to physics, he’s mostly on Coursera or edx or something like that.. He’s a bit of a nerd.

IMS: Tell us a bit about challenges you might have faced as SteelRush. What is it like being a two-member band?

SteelRush: The challenges we faced are very similar to what any independent artist faces starting off. Not getting gigs, not getting paid for them.. we can go on forever about that. As far as being a two member band goes, it is only an issue when it comes to performing live. For the song writing bit, it is in fact much easier as the two of us have a very similar approach to it.

IMS: Are you guys going Live anytime soon? Future plans?

SteelRush: Of course. We’re working on completing our line up, looking for the right session players and even a band manager. Until then we’re planning to play acoustic sets as a duo. Apart from that we’ve already started writing material for the next CD.

IMS: Any other message?

SteelRush: Our EP ‘Through The Night’ is all set to be released. We never really thought that we would get the response we have had till now. The singles have been received fairly well and we would want the same support from everyone, to help our album to be a bigger success. Do buy our EP if you feel our music’s worth it. Cheers!

IMS: Thank you for your time! We wish you all the best.

INTERVIEW with Das Hubris

Posted by ims on April 24, 2014

Das Hubris formed only in 2013, is a comparatively new band that plays hard rock drawing inspiration from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Cream, Deep Purple and Guns ‘N’ Roses. The band have proved their good musical acumen through some memorable live performances in the city and two singles.

1. Please introduce the band and tell us about the inception of Das Hubris.

DH : For sure! I am Animikh, the vocalist of Das Hubris. For Forged In Fire II, you’ll be seeing me,
Debarchan (Guitars), Debjit (Guitars), and Gourab “da” (drums) on stage.
I specifically wrote “For Forged In Fire II…” because we have been a very unstable line-up from the start. I and Debarchan got together late in Class XI (2010), and would discuss music online for hours. He was a neophyte at the guitar then, and he had a thirst for playing live. And I, then star-struck by the glory of rock n’ roll, wrote a few songs with him. This went on for about 2 years, when we were playing at our friends’ place for about 2 days a week, labeling ourselves as The Rick n Mick Blues Group (Rick is his nickname).
After said time, Debarchan found PiKu “da” to play drums with us. Momentum immediately picked up, and we recorded Running From The Law, and Tipsy Evening Blues (demos) then and there. We released them online and adopted the name Das Hubris.

2. What is the meaning and significance behind the name ‘Das Hubris’?

DH : In German , “Das Auto” literally translates to “The Car” . “Das” encompasses more of an idea , than a single meaning . It basically means a singular thing .
As for “Hubris” ,the word means “insolence: arrogance , such as invites disaster” (‘Chamber’s..’) It is often associated with “pride ,with a lack of humility, though not always with the lack of knowledge.”

You can relate with me here , since you and I actually know how it feels to be a part of a country , that is run by incapability , deception, and sick brazen lies , etc . There you are eating your cereal one fine morning , when you get the paper , or switch on the news , and the fit hits the shan – But you are not in the dark . You actually know what’s wrong . You actually see through the deception these days easily. So you are knowledgeable of the shit that happens around you.
Neither is there quantity culture. Many substantial people remain unknown faces , and are either subdued , dominated by rotten prejudice , or simply – shy and scared.

Being hubristic here isn’t an unusual suggestion for us. Humility is not to be awarded to the incapable , we feel . We must conquer , with Hubris – that which binds us down.

Thus , Hubris.

https://soundcloud.com/das-hubris

3. Which musicians have influenced you personally and as a band? Do you incorporate the essence of such influences in your music?

DH : Of course we incorporate the essence of that which inspires us .
Hadn’t it been for Jim Morrison , Elvis Presley and Ozzy Osbourne specifically , I would never have had the faith to do vocal duties . From them I learnt , that prowess is power definitely , but
feeling what you sing is important too .
And I know how much Debarchan loves the Blues . Eric Clapton , B.B. King , Jimmy Page are major influences for him .
Debjit has been more in touch with Classical music , and he (I am sure) would not deny influences and inspiration from Adrian Smith, and David Gilmour also .
Both of them are indebted to their guitar guru (and now , mine too) , Sri Alok Ghosh .
Gourab “da” has Dave Grohl , Keith Moon , and John Bonham as his primary influences .
As a performing band , we are influenced by Led Zeppelin , Cream , GnR , etc .

4. How much of original material have you put out so far? What does a typical Das Hubris setlist look like?

DH : We have put out 2 original compositions( demos ) so far , you know ‘em .
We will be playing both of them on 3rd May .
Our typical setlist would mainly have OCs , with occasional covers of bands we decide to pay a tribute to . They mostly include our influences .

5. Is there music that is written but yet to be released? When can we expect an EP/LP?

DH: Yes , we have a couple of songs that are fully ready to be jammed into . We will release them as demos again.
However , we are quite short on capital , you see .
Also , we aren’t signed under any record labels . If we must , then we have to finance it ourselves . So I won’t promise an EP/LP anytime soon .

6. Can you give us an insight into your songwriting process?

DH : Tipsy Evening Blues has been the standard for our songwriting process till date . The lyrics were never written (except for the chorus ) , and they are improvised everytime we’ve played live . Also the solo section is reset and improvised afresh every time . We enjoy this .
Normally else , someone comes up with a riff , or a beat , or an idea , and the whole band digs in , to build something concrete .

Debarchan has composed the riffs for both of our OCs , and I find writing the lyrics a less daunting thing to do than the others do !

7. Which is your dream band to open for?

DH: Almost all of our dream acts are about to retire .
I’d give anything to open for Black Sabbath (Atleast , till Tony Iommi is personally present)
I bet Debarchan would think Led Zeppelin , B.B. King , Pink Floyd …
Debjit might have Iron Maiden in his list .

However , looking over the past , and in our nation specifically , we’d find it an honor to open for Kryptos , or Albatross.

8. Das Hubris is a part of the brilliant line-up for Forged In Fire II. How do you feel about it? What should fans be looking forward to?

DH : KOSMA has our utmost respect for whatever it envisions. We would thank Samrat Daas and Avijit Shyam for giving us an opportunity to play , inexperienced though we are.
The acts succeeding us , are stellar groups of dedicated musicians in the scene presently , and it is an honor for us to be sharing the stage with them.
For our audience , we’ll be presenting an unadulterated set of no-bullshit rock n’ roll.

9. What has been your craziest gig/jam/experience as a band so far?

DH : When we used to jam at PiKu “da’s” place , we would keep jamming and improvising – and that would get extended to about an hour or so non-stop , till his mother would come and threaten to drag us out into the streets . Those have been fun times .

10. What musical goals do you seek to accomplish in the near future?

DH : We hope to survive . Many good bands in India have broken up , while sailing against the flow .
Also , we hope more OCs , more practice , a steady lineup , and a tighter act .

11. For all the hardware geeks at IMS, can you share some information about your equipment and rig?

DH : We use the cheapest gear possible .
Debarchan plays a Yemaha Les Paul copy , and Debjit , a Yemaha also . Both use basic processors (Korg AX5G and Zoom G1 Next).
Our drummer owns some signature drumsticks , and a basic , assembled , drum kit . That’s all .