Rajarshi: No bother at all Avinash. Thanks a lot for considering me for an interview for your amazing webpage. I have been listening to a lot of new progressive bands lately. Opeth, Pain of Salvation, new Meshuggah, new P Tree, Ayreon, Nile, Blackfield, Cynic etc. Other than that I listen to a lot of piano sonatas by Beethoven, Bach, Chopin and Tchaikovsky. I highly recommend the readers to listen to the kick-ass new Meshuggah album, Obzen and the best Porcupine Tree album yet, Fear of a Black Planet. Obzen is a perfect mixture of sheer brutality and technical marvel and FOABP is a treat in pure British Progressive rock, with beautiful song writing and production. Very inspiring stuff.
2.Would you like to tell a brief story of Apollonian Quest?
Rajarshi: Well we started off pretty much the usual way. Lineup changes, initial scratch compositions, jamming problems, maddening schedules and lack of gigs. Formally the band was conceptualized by Ananda(vox), Arjun(guit), Joshua(keys) and myself in 2006, beginning. However due to shortage of good drummers and bass players, we were pretty much in stagnation until recently. The lineup we of now is:
Ananda: Vocals, Joshua: Keyboards, Raj: Guitars, Hamza: Drums.
Members who have been involved with AQ and have contributed immensely are:
Vikas Reddy: Drums, 06-07, he is working in Schlumberger and is posted in Peru.
Jerson Pinto: He is playing bass for an amazing alternative band, Surface Trauma apart from his solo jazz projects.
Liszel: She guested for female vocals during Livewire 2006. It was a short and a fun spell that she spent in the band.
Abhishek Chatterjee: Bass, Livewire 07, X guitar player of Chennai Death Metallers, Blasphemy.
Vishal Jit Singh(Amogh Symphony), Anubhav Misra(Acrid Semblance) and Rishi(Nirvikalpa): Unmatched guidance in both composition and production. Their help cannot be paralleled.
You can also read the detailed band bio at www.myspace.com/aqindia.
3.Since how long have you been playing the guitar?After listening to the songs many times,i came to know that your solos are very phenomenol.Not many metal bands in India put good shred solos in their music and that's what i really like in Apollonian Quest.Any inspiration?
Rajarshi: Thanks a lot for the kind words Avinash. Although the solos are slightly fast, I am not much into shredding. I have been playing and writing music that falls vaguely in the genre of neo classical since a couple of years now. Although not anymore, I have been heavily influenced by the usual soloists, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Joe Satriani. As of now, I like listening to only tasteful guitar players, not necessarily from any particular genre. I am a huge fan of Larry Carlton, who plays Jazz. I would love to play like Warren(Zero) or Bruce Lee Mani(TAAQ) someday. Both these guys take Indian Guitar playing to a new level by their solos, tones and feel. Inspirationally, I would have to give it totally to John Petrucci and Ron Jarzombeck(Spastic Ink). JP has an insanely controlled technique which allows him to play any technique effortlessly at any tempo, not to mention his soulful solos and his tone. I guess any guitar player, who plays with good feel and has a good tone, would catch my eye.
4.Who write lyrics for Apollonian Quest and who compose the music?
Rajarshi: As of now, AQ is working on a 13 song concept album. Its called Dionysian Fantasia, The Birth and Rise of Nemesis. We have composed most of the music, and the lyrics have been fully written by Ananda. Ananda is influenced heavily by classical literature from the genres of fantasy and mythology. The concept behind the album is an epic fantasy that contains an open ended interpretation about an anti-hero.
5..Would you like to say something about the sudden rise of Progressive and Technical Metal?
Rajarshi: Definitely. Progressive rock and metal is, according to me the future of contemporary music. There have been short spells of extremely shallow and time bound music through the late 80s and the 90s that have made listeners ache for something deeper, more complex and more thought provoking. Progressive music, although has been around since King Crimson, in the 70’s has seen a new boost in the 21st century which I think is just the beginning. New bands which are extremely talented are attracting listeners from all sorts of genres and ages. Bands are doing a lot of rhythmic experimentation (like Meshuggah, Tool, DT), alternative melodies and modes (Opeth, POS, Spastic Ink). Lots of bands are writing brilliant concept albums (The Human Equation – Ayreon, Metropolis Prt 2 – DT, BE – POS). Progressive Music is the music for the experimental an progressive soul, and is definitely a saving grace after the horrendous Grunge and Punk movements. You can read some of my articles on music on www.rajbhatt.wordpress.com.
6.So any future plans of Apollonian Quest?
Rajarshi: Well, AQ was formed solely as a concept band, and I would like to keep it as such. I am working on the next concept album, which has a very different theme than Dionysian Fantasia. We would like to carry out both musical and literary experimentation with the band in the course of our musical journey. I also hope to play more gigs in and around the city for people to know us better, but the central ideology of the band is based on our compositions and lyrics.
7.Thanks for this interview Rajarshi.I hope readers will get to know a little more about Apollonian Quest from this interview.Any message would you like to leave for the listeners and readers?
Rajarshi: Not a problem at all Avinash. I am extremely grateful for including my interview again. I am not much of a preachy person, so I will try to keep this section short and precise. I would like to tell the reader to listen to as many types of music as possible without forming an opinion. There is absolutely nothing constructive in classifying music in genres. In my mind, there are 2 types of music in all. That which is well written, creative and soulful, and that which is shallow and superficial. There are different moods that these different types, none of which is, unconditionally bad. I would also request new bands, to try and write as much original music as possible. Have confidence in your own sound and experience how beautiful it is to write and execute your own songs rather than that written by somebody else, no matter how great it might be.
