LEAVING HOME: The Life and Music of Indian Ocean

Language: English, Hindi and Bengali (with English Subtitles) Duration: 1 Hour 55 Minutes

7.00 pm at LAMAKAAN on Wed, 12 Dec 2012

Writer-Director: Jaideep Varma Producer: D. Ramakrishna, Jaideep Varma

Beyond Indian Ocean, I don’t see anyone…I see brown-wannabe whites. - Rabbi Shergill INDIAN OCEAN.

Based in Delhi, the band has been in existence for 18 years. It has released less than 30 songs during this time, with not a filler amidst them. Every single one of them refuses to age and more than half of those are bona fide classics.

They conform to no music industry norms. Their songs (and instrumental pieces) have an average length of more than eight minutes (some go beyond ten), and none of them are love songs in the conventional sense. They sing in many different Indian languages, sometimes in dialects not easily understood; their most famous song is in the ancient language of Aramaic.

And yet, with their acoustic guitar-bass-tabla-drums-vocals format, their fluid jazzy vibe and rock intensity, they sound more urgently contemporary than most music does anywhere in the world. The strong influence of Indian Classical and the time-honoured earthiness of folk root their music more than most contemporary music anywhere in the world. All resulting in an absolutely unique sound, but accessible to anyone, anywhere.

All four have given up conventional earning careers to pursue their calling, without even a respectful nod to the commerce of their times. This abstinence has cost them mainstream presence and the backing of a premier music company.

And yet they have a following that is growing week after week. Their volume of concerts is growing all around the world (an average of 70 concerts a year now, over five continents).