Austrian Psychedelic/Prog Rockers Mother’s Cake in India This Week

As far as live video performances go, few were as landmark as Pink Floyd’s Live in Pompeii for its time. While the British psychedelic rock legends had an ancient amphitheater in the Seventies, Austria’s psych/prog rock band Mother’s Cake decided to go to the Bergisel Ski Jump stadium in their hometown of Innsbruck to shoot their latest live album Live at Bergisel.

Mother’s Cake drummer Jan Haussels confirms they were certainly inspired by Pink Floyd for their mind-bending, colorful and trippy live album, which features seven psyched-out jams. “The stadium we had in front [of] our doorsteps just has this amphitheater like vibe to it and reminded us so much of their scenery. Well, besides the temperature. But if anything, that helped us to add our own vision to it,” Haussels says.

Their second live album since Off the Beaten Track in 2014, Mother’s Cake were pretty much going with the “usual ingredients of go bigger or go home,” according to Haussels. That kind of approach is perhaps what’s taken them from winning band competitions like Local Heroes Austria to sharing the stage with the likes of Alice In Chains, Limp Bizkit and Deftones ever since they came together in 2008. Haussels however adds jokingly, “We are no Cinderella story where we had that one decisive moment and all the wheels started to turn. We just kept going, playing, writing and we’re still quite far off making it to the Rock Hall of Fame.”

The trio will make their India debut this week, with shows in Bengaluru (February 1st at The Humming Tree) and Nashik (at annual wine and music festival SulaFest on February 3rd) through music management agency Mixtape. Haussels mentions that this also marks their first visit to Asia, bringing their blend of Led Zeppelin-esque highs with the psychedelic chaos of bands like The Mars Volta. Haussels describes a typical Mother’s Cake set as “a well-placed and much-appreciated kick on your ass.” He adds about coming to India, “I honestly have no clue what to expect and consciously decided on not getting informed too much beforehand. So I’m hopefully in for a very intense culture shock and packing my suitcase will be a gamble.”

But the band regrets that they won’t be staying longer in India beyond the half a week they’re spending. Haussels says, “We’re going back home ASAP as very big and important things are going to happen. We’re trying to keep it low for a while and create some space, resulting in new material for the next record to come. That one is definitely out of the [regular] category. Easier said than done!

Mixtape presents Mother’s Cake India 2019

February 1st ”“ The Humming Tree, Bengaluru (w/Flaw & Order)

February 3rd ”“ Sula Vineyards, Nashik (SulaFest 2019)

Event details here (Bengaluru) and here (SulaFest).