An insight into Shillong’s very own ‘Aberrant’
By Nawaz Yasin Islam
SHILLONG: The former ‘city of eastern lights’, Guwahati had its living daylight punched right off its face when the five member battering ram from the ‘Rock Capital of India’ unleashed their melodious fury only to leave the night sky bleeding for more.
Following an earlier impeccable display of profundity and analytical precision that earned them the coveted crown of ‘Meghalaya Icon III’ on January 31, 2012, another laurel was rightly brought to the State following them being crowned as the 1st Runners up in Rock-O-Phonix.
This battle of the bands took place in IIT Guwahati as part of the annual cultural fest and is very popularly coming to be known as the Holy Grail of Rock. With some of the best bands in the country wielding their axes and hammers to the sheer symphony exceeding thousands of watts, heaven seemed like a place likely to be ignored.
Seven bands namely ABERRANT, TICKS TALK, FATAL MALICE, THE URBAN EARLY MEN, ABLY, ANNEXE MILESTONE and CLUELESS ATTENTION vied for the grand prize at Rock-O-Phonix which turned out to be a multi plated cuisine, aptly satisfying the ear, eye and thumping heart. After a rigorous final round, The Urban Early Men from Delhi were adjudged unanimous winners. Following them, were Shillong metal act Aberrant on the 1st runners up spot. Clueless Attention and Tick’s Talk were jointly announced the second runners up.
Aberrant, a groove/ experimental metal band from Shillong, formed with a flaming intention of dishing out metal like a shiny silver sword piercing through the open heart has proved critiques that they are simply en route to dominate the rock arena and of course literally bringing down every house that shelters them.
Aberrant is simply one of the few purely and honestly lateral-thinking forces genuinely dedicated to pushing the boundaries of extreme music simply because doing so comes so naturally to them. The recent assault at IIT Guwahati and a mega performance in Shillong earlier at the Rebel County 2012 in October only highlights sonic legacy equivalent to Stephen Hawking’s contribution to theoretical physics.
Honestly, closely following the band and their symphonies, it is more apt to say that they have been heavily influenced, not only by power riffs and increasing tempo with minimalistic song writing but a professionalism that combats the predictable inclination of lesser known bands to charge swiftly and crescendo madly, on into infinity.
With the power of Shillong’s answer to Randy Blythe (sans the manslaughter charges), Ryngkat Jyrwa, Aberrant and its dedicated team of metal worshippers have not only brought laurels to this State but have also obliterated the existing paradigms of groove/ experimental metal, upping the ante for heavy music to a level of mathematical profundity.
They, being at the formative years, may only have a handful of songs so far but are definitely turning out to be a force to be reckoned with…the synonym of annihilation. (With event inputs contributed by Hengul Dutta)
Here are the excerpts of a interview post carnage!
N: Something on the word ‘Aberrant’.
A: We chose this name because we like what it means and we can relate to its meaning. It’s all about being different you know and not being afraid about being so.
N: Most bands have creative inspiration and fascinations. What was the spark that brought together a few metal warriors?
A: We are all from different bands, Imti who also plays guitar for DWAR, Jerry who plays guitar for us but plays drums for Project blend Ltd., Bhabor played drums from Defying Caution before, Ampher who plays bass for us plays guitar for his band Undead n Ryngkat our vocalist is the frontman of Native Rules.
We all love metal music and we wanted to do something different that we haven’t done or are not doing with our respective bands and since we were good friends it made it a bit easier and we now have ABERRANT!
N: How would you elaborate your song structure and lyrical theme?
A: The songs that we’ve written so far are based on groove and melody. It comes to us and we never know how a song will turn out to be in the end until it’s finished and so far we are happy with both our songs and we are learning more and more everyday. The journey of learning and improving will never stop and as far as lyrical theme goes, we write about anything that affects us as individuals and to some extend about what affects the society as well.
N: How is the home support coming?
A: It has been good so far. We are still a new band even though the members are known faces in the music scene of Shillong. We get messages from kids and people who like our music and who want to learn our lyrics so that they can sing along when we do play a concert. We are humbled by it n I hope the support for our music grows with time.
N: Any projects in the pipeline?
A: As of now, no. We are concentrating on establishing this band first since it’s still a “child” and there’s a lot of time, effort to be put in and a lot of work that needs to be done.
Ryngkat Jyrwa, who was adjudged as the ‘best vocalist’ is the ‘metal apple’ of the eye. An employee to the Government of Meghalaya and a demolisher on stage, here is what he has to say…
(www.facebook.com/aberrant5 ,www.soundcloud.com/aberrant5, www.reverbnation.com/aberrant5)
N: I was witness to your stage antics.. Do u see a vocalist more as a performer and not just a singer?
R: When I’m on stage I am both, a performer and a singer and there are times when the adrenaline kicks in hard, that moment is just amazing. Let me put it this way. My off stage and on stage is like Dr. Banning and the Hulk….haha!
N: What do you have to say about the talent among Meghalaya’s youth?
R: There’s so much talent here and yet very few people know that truth! There’s talent not only in music but in other forms of art like dance, artists, visual arts etc. We are proud to know that there is a lot of talent here but sad that very little or nothing at all is being done to help, guide and motivate the youth.
N: Are Shillong bands given the respect and coverage they deserve?
R: No, and there are reasons for this. Shillong bands no matter how good have had very little light shone upon them. This is because until recently bands had very bad production which was not at par with the rest of the country. (This has now shifted slightly with the coming of the internet n proper recording softwares and studios being used as a means to propel a band ahead)
Another reason is that the society here still thinks that being a musician or a band is a waste of time and that nothing good will come out of it, especially if one is in a metal band!! Even established bands don’t help us!
N: Is there anything the govt can do to improve the scenario?
R: The Govt can start by building a place meant only for live music to happen. Also have programs and schemes for serious Musicians where people who are really doing music can work and earn money. We don’t have anything against folk music and musicians but there are more people who play and have bands that play western music and none of them are being given proper guidance, facilities and infrastructure to build and improve on their art.
The Govt should cater to music. It should take examples from the Nagaland govt who are doing a good job with the hornbill music fest; our State govt should start such initiatives, that way the music scene will flourish. It’s good that NGOs such as the Meghalaya Aids Control Society is having the annual Meghalaya Icon that provides a proper platform for our state’s musicians at the same time spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS.
The Govt should also help to bring in modern international acts for big music events, that way we could learn so much more and improve on our skills. We can then be at par with others & Shillong will not be the rock capital of India just in name.
Ryngkat on the team:
* Everyone is unique in their own way, amazing people they are. Glad to be a part of the Aberrant family
* Jerry Nelson plays an important role in the band, he’s what we all call “Guru Ji”. We all look up to him.
* Everybody loves Ampher, he’s a jolly happy guy. He’s a guitarist but plays bass for this band. He’s got so much potential.
* Imti “The Captain”, hard working guy. I’ve seen him since he started playing with a band till now, he’s an amazing guitarist.
* Our drummer Bhabor delivers when he plays. I’m happy for him and he’s one of the best!
