Coshish, Rainburn Team Up to Take Prog to New Cities

(from left) Anish Nair, Hamza Kazi, Shrikant Sreenivasan and Mangesh Gandhi. Photo: Pavitr Saith

About a year after its initial club edition in Bengaluru in July, gig series Progworks On Wheels returns as a much bigger package, including more bands and a set of wheels that will take Mumbai band Coshish and their Bengaluru counterparts Rainburn to five cities, between October 14th and October 28th. Says Rainburn guitarist Vats Iyengar, “I thought we would do a bigger one-day festival for Progworks and the other idea was to have a longer tour with Coshish. Now they’ve merged both.”

The bands, who played two shows together in Mumbai and Pune in June, also have help from Bengaluru co-promoter Ramakrishnan Krishnan, previously part of the 2Stroke Tour. He says, “My main interest in this is more in promoting and pushing this interesting and complex genre that we call progressive but which is a lot more than what we perhaps associate it with here in India. And that’s an interest that both Ashwin [Sharma, Coshish manager] and Vats share.” Krishnan says the fact that not too many prog gigs take place doesn’t dissuade him from the potential success of the series this time. “The fact that it is ‘niche’ and not too many prog music gigs happen also means a high likelihood of that very dedicated audience for such music turning up and with them others too, piqued by curiosity.”

The lineup extends to include local bands in each city, which makes it less of a co-headline tour for Coshish and Rainburn and more of a collective showcase of progressive rock and metal and its subgenres. While their opening show in New Delhi on October 14th features The Uncertainty Principle and Passages, Mumbai includes instrumental rock/metal bands such as Pangea and Fraunikus and Pune features prog/post-rock act Celestial Teapot, and the Bengaluru show has a performance from math rock band Stuck In November.

Bengaluru prog rock band Rainburn. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Coshish guitarist Shrikant Sreenivasan adds, “We’ve never played on the same lineup as these bands, so it’s great for us. We’re also playing in Delhi for the first time since 2009 and debuting in Hyderabad.” Sreenivasan is also on double duty in Mumbai, where he will perform with Fraunikus as well. The guitarist adds, “It’s very different, and this time, I’m even playing percussion on a Fraunikus song called ”˜Forlorn II’. I’m really excited about it.”

As for Coshish material, there may be a new track that’s tentatively titled “Gavinci Code” (as a nod to prog drummer Gavin Harrison), which Sreenivasan says has emerged from “tons of drums tracks” demoed by Hamza Kazi. The guitarist adds, “Compared to the first album [Firdous], this is way more prog and heavier. When we heard a completed track, we’re all thinking, ”˜Is this possible [to play live]? Are we seriously doing this?’”

Rainburn are also taking three new songs on the road, including “Merchant of Dreams,” which they played at their show in Mumbai earlier this year, and “Elusive Light,” which Iyengar describes as “long, complex and tricky to play live.” They also might throw in the light-headed, trippy new song “Mirrors” as well.

As for Progworks On Wheels, Iyengar hopes to push it further and keep it running annually. He adds, “I thought it up independent of Rainburn, so I want to do this next year, but without me or Coshish, possibly making it just about innovative music and not just prog.”

Progworks On Wheels 2016 ”“ Coshish and Rainburn

October 14th ”“ Antisocial, New Delhi w/The Uncertainty Principle, Passages

October 19th ”“ Antisocial, Mumbai w/Pangea, Fraunikus

October 20th ”“ Hard Rock Café, Pune w/Celestial Teapot

October 27th ”“ The Humming Tree, Bengaluru w/Stuck In November

October 28th ”“ The Other Side, Hyderabad

Event details here.