JOIN USA group of youngsters got together through the common thread of music for an act that they happily call ‘As The Cookie Crumbles’.
The members of the energetic metal band — Nikhil Narayan, Sulekha Angeline, Dippyaman Bhattacharya, Sharon Joseph, Saurabh Rana, Nikita Nunes and Sarmad Ahmad — are an excited lot who love experimenting with music. In a chat with Tini Sara Anien, they shed light on their journey so far.
How did the band come together?
Sarmad: We came together as a band when our college needed a group to perform music at an event. We decided to form a seven-piece band just because of this, but after that event we stuck together because we were convinced that this was our calling.
The tale behind the name...
Sharon: We were looking for something fun and catchy. The boys were all sitting together and thinking of names for the group when the word ‘cookie’ popped up in their head somehow. They started brainstorming and the idiom ‘That’s the way the cookie crumbles’ came up and they played around it. I remember asking them what would happen if we were not taken seriously when on stage. (Laughs) But whoever we met was curious about our music and the name. Our music, just like our name, is an experiment.
How has your own musical journey gone ahead after being a part of the band?
Dippyaman: The journey of music has changed a lot for me. I used to play jazz, blues and pop music earlier and this is a huge change from that. Since the band is experimental, it has introduced me to different technicalities of the genre; be it thrash, heavy or new metal. I learnt a lot of new riffs and also how to change the tempo of my songs. I get to play solos also with this band, which has been a very encouraging and exciting experience.
Some of the band’s original compositions...
Saurabh: We have four compositions to our credit — ‘In Search of War’, ‘Two-faced’, ‘Lonely Looney’ and ‘Final Frontier’. All the compositions are mostly about coping with one’s inner conflict. We are also influenced by sub genres of metal itself and other sounds around.
How different is this band from other bands in the same genre?
Nikita: We aim to be different and thus our acts stand apart. Our influences are many and our style is unique. We have female vocalists which are not a common sight in metal bands in India. Female artistes are seen more in blues and rock music, but not in Indian metal music.
The band is influenced by...
Sulekha: Our influences include an Italian Goth band called ‘Lacuna Coil’, which is a six-piece band. Other bands that we follow are ‘Gojira’ and ‘Myrath’.
How important is an online presence for artistes now?
Nikhil: We have a Facebook page where we put up updates. We also post our videos on YouTube. An online presence is of utmost important for all artistes because it gives free advertisement and is a publicity platform. One’s art is taken beyond usual dimensions to a massive scale.