Split Wide Open
Descant: Mad Ambition
Split Magazine’s Delhi correspondent Sanmitra Gupta caught up with upcoming alt. rock outfit Descant for an exclusive interview about the band and their newly released EP, ‘Mad Ambition’.
Before anything else, why ‘Mad Ambition’? And why that burnt cigarette (which I believe has been mistaken for an arm by some people)?
Well ‘Mad Ambition’ was actually an album title we weren’t so sure about, initially. We were fooling around with possible names and would embark upon sudden and futile brainstorming trips before we began recording our songs. As the process began, we were almost surrounded by a gazillion intricate details and problems. It was almost like a mad ambition for us to see a final cut of the album. Plus, without a label backing us, expecting anything was what our album title is all about. The cigarette on the cover, well that was just a cover which we felt went with our sound — a little raw, a little rough. Ah well… we were just short of time.
How long did it take you to record your songs? Are you happy with the final outcome on the whole?
Recording has been a gradual process. Our first single “Journey” was recorded quite some time. Then there was a long gap, of a year or so, and after we could afford to buy some studio we did the rest at a go. It’s our maiden effort and we are satisfied with the outcome, though what’s obvious is that the recording quality is different for different songs — because of [the] different studios [we recorded in]. And though the recording quality is quite appealing, it is something that we shall definitely seek to improve enough. If it isn’t apparent already … YES WE WOULD WANT A LABEL TO HELP US OUT IN THE FUTURE!!
Tell us a little bit about the philosophy that goes into your songs?
Philosophy? Are you serious? Well not much really… our music is mostly melody-based. We don’t have a complicated sound and we try to keep it that way. We know we aren’t the most intense or the most technical band around, but what we are is a group of people making music that we like a lot and hopefully others will hold the same opinion for it. Lyrically though, we don’t try to get too many people involved (laughs!) but yeah they are relatively thoughtful outputs. It’s just about spreading our music, and we have decided to shun all the fame and sex when we get to it. (Laughs)
How important has releasing this EP been for you guys? How has the response been so far?
Releasing an EP is one of the major steps for any amateur band in India. It’s instrumental in giving yourselves a shot at being heard by the maximum number of people possible, and more importantly outside the seasonal affair of live shows. We’ve sold around 200 copies already and just knowing that is satisfying in itself and of course it’s a tremendous ego boost to see an audio CD with your name and songs on it. Pricing it low has also been a great advantage.
Hmm… now I’m going to ask you to choose a favourite song from the EP? (The “mother’s children” banter won’t do!)
Ok, how about father’s children, then? They are all songs we wrote and play so there’s obviously no least favourite though all of us would agree that the end product for “Now” has been most satisfying — in terms of production quality.
What are Descant’s future plans?
We’ve planned a tour of the States starting May and then we’ll fly over to Europe for the next leg, but they’re just plans so… Till then however, it’s Jam, Jam, Gig, Gig and come up with more original music. We also have to work on our sound and we also hope to have enough material to have an album someday maybe. If things work out we’d love to give the band our complete undivided attention but considering that professional careers are also a priority, we don’t know how far such plans would materialise, but we’ll keep trying to stay together and get better as we go along.
When can we hear some uploaded tracks?
Cool release…..”now” is awesome……congrats on being selected for the GIR release…………good going dude……..all the best for the work in the future and include Satyajit in the band ASAP