Formed two decades ago, Chennai garage rock band Skrat started off as a five-piece band. Over the years, it came down to a four-member line-up and then settled as a trio. Today, though the core group consists of vocalist-guitarist Sriram TT, bassist Jhanu Chanthar and drummer-vocalist Tapass Naresh, they’re open to playing live sets with additional musicians.
A Skrat live concert is naturally filled with energy, tight interplay and regular interaction with the crowd. And the group plans to further expand their horizon in the near future. Drummer Tapass says, “This year is all about pushing the boundaries musically and experimenting with new sounds and musicians. The core will always be the same but we’re branching out. Now we’re re evolving into something bigger and more exciting by including a number of new elements into our music – both people and ideas!”
Skrat was part of the Live At The Warehouse show on February 27 at G5A, Mumbai, along with Mumbai-based indie-rock band Fox in the Garden and Bengaluru’s Signal W. Besides gigs across India, the band wants to spend time this year showcasing their music to the rest of the world. Says Tapass, “Truth be told we haven’t really stepped out of the country. There have been barely one or two gigs outside. Now that is the kind opportunity that we hope will come to us in the near future.”
Having released the albums Design, Bring Out The Big Guns, The Queen and Bison, Skrat came out with the five-song EP Circus Act last year. According to Tapass, the entire Skrat catalogue has always been written with various characters in mind. He adds, “Sriram (the vocalist) is a master storyteller who weaves various characters from one album into another. Circus Act was the perfect EP for us to tell the world that this is what we have been doing all along for the last 20 years.”
Tapass says the stories the band wrote two decades ago are still relevant and play a pivotal role in the songs they wrote for Circus Act. “The music might be reflective of our time now but the stories are still rooted in what we started from,” he explains.
The drummer is quick to point out that songs just happen. He elaborates, “You put in enough time together as a band and just jam with no agenda. Out of nowhere a song pops out. Of course, we have our individual expertise that we bring to the table but the song takes shape out of pure randomness.”
Growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, the band members had multiple influences. Collectively, their favourites were Linkin Park, System of a Down, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, U2, White Stripes and Muse. Recently, Turnstile and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have been added to their listening playlists.
On the overall scenario, Tapass says rock music was thriving in Chennai in the early 2000s just before they began. He recalls, “There were a bunch of acts that were writing a lot of original music. We had festivals that filled 3,000 or 5,000 people. Slowly however the infrastructure never developed. Venues weren’t prevalent. Bands slowly stopped forming. I think challenges are more now than 20 years ago. This is quite surprising.”
On the line-up changes that took place in their early phase, Tapass feels bands form naturally. He says, “We always believe that if a member was meant to be then he or she will stick on. We always took it with a positive stride if we had any new changes to the band. After all change is the only constant.”
The drummer isn’t happy with the classification of music as indie or commercial. He says, “It is one of the worst things the music industry has done, as it has divided everything including opportunities. People are put in a shell of independent or commercial acts based on factors which the artistes don’t have the bandwidth to decide. We take any opportunities that come our way and look for anything that pushes us forward.”
On rock bands singing English in India, he feels language is just a tool. “Music should be music, and good music will always find its audience, irrespective of language. Write good songs and the music will be heard,” he says.
One of Skrat’s best moments came when they were one of the bands that opened for guitarist Slash and vocalist Myles Kennedy at Bengaluru in 2015. Tapass recalls, “It was probably the most star-struck we’ve ever been. Seeing Slash with Myles was probably one of the most surreal experiences we had. Add to it that we got to open for them was the sweetest icing any cake could ever have.” With more and more international rock acts touring India, one can look forward to another such memorable moment.
