In an interview, the members of the band Daira talk to us about making music that isn’t restricted by any boundaries
Releasing an album is a big step that usually comes a few years into a band’s life. But such conventions mean very little for upcoming progressive rock band Daira, which although barely a year old, has recently released its eponymous first album.
A collage of different members from different bands, Daira’s members say they have a problem with convention. Telling us about the bold step to release an album so soon into the band’s life, its vocalist and lead singer Piyush elaborates, “Well, that is because the album was never the initial plan. When we set out, our fundamental premise was that we will never lose focus on creating original music, no matter how many covers we did. So over time, we had already made about eight songs, which we then decided to add to and make into an album. So the songs came first and not the album.”
And while the band has been tagged as a “progressive rock” group, Piyush further adds that this struggle with convention holds true when it comes to genres as well. “Initially, people said that we are alternative rock. So we said ‘Okay cool, we are alternative rock’ because I personally don’t understand much about genres. There are so many favourite bands of mine, which if you ask me which genre they are from I won’t be able to tell you.”
And similarly, the album too is made of a number of influences, with none of them dominating the other, he says. “The lyrics are in Awadhi, so it’s rich in Indian influences as well. But the form and feel of the songs are meant to appeal to the more modern audience. So in many ways, it is a conflict of genres. The Indian elements, though essential, are not in your face.” Elaborating with an example, Piyush says, “Our favourite song in the album is this track called Maya.
Now I know there have been a million songs with the same title by thousands of musicians, but what we’ve tried is to make it very personal. It takes away from the usual connotation of illusion and weaves a very dark take using our music. It’s about what a person thinks when he is alone in a room or in the dark. But here, too, only the lyrics are dark, the music itself is pretty groovy, lending a sense of conflict to the song.”
While the band has already started working on its second album, the process will always remain the same, adds Piyush. “We have already completed three songs for the next album, but we are, at the same time, promoting the first album as well. And just because we are working on an album doesn’t mean that we won’t be doing covers. For the coming year or so, we want to concentrate on our first album and promote it. But that again doesn’t take away from the other things we want to do. Whether it is about playing covers, making songs or making albums, our fundamental idea is to not put any shackles on ourselves,” concludes Piyush.
