Back To The Sixties With The Urban Early Men

The Urban EarlyMen

Formed in the summer of 2011, The Urban Early Man is a five piece funk/alternative band. “We absolutely adore the music of the Sixties. The Beatles and Pink Floyd have been massive influences. Our present day influences include Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Radiohead”, says Roshan Roy, current bassist of The Urban Early Man.

They bagged the first position in the W.O.R.M.E Fest, sponsored by VH1. “More than a hundred bands participated. Winning this competition was a big boost to our confidence”, explains Roshan. They have participated in several other all-India level competitions and have won a number of best guitarist awards at various festivals.

On winning the Hard Rock Rising, Roshan says, “People say that our live act is very different from the other bands. I feel that we make music in an unusual way. Our music is not commercial. Rather, it’s something that we enjoy. This is what I believe, helped us to win this competition”.

He seemed a little apprehensive about competing at the international level. “The problem is that Indian audiences aren’t that into rock. Hence it’s going to be difficult for Indian bands to get votes. However, UK and US bands are going to get much better
support from their audiences. So I can’t really say anything about our chances of winning at this level”.

However, their concern about the voting scenario hasn’t stopped them from giving this their hundred percent. “We’ve been jamming a lot. We are trying to improve our existing songs and are also trying to come up with better music that will hopefully appeal to a wider audience. We also plan to go all out on the marketing bit. This will include creating awareness through Facebook and personally informing all our friends. We’re keeping our fingers crossed”.

The Urban EarlyMen are:

Vocals: Adityan Nair

Lead guitar: Mridul Luthra

Rhythm guitar: Siby Mathew

Drums: Rohan Arora

The Urban Early Men will be playing tonight at Blue Frog, Delhi. Their setlist for the night is a mostly cover set with songs like Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” Led Zeppelin’s “Over The Hills And Far Away,” Radiohead’s “My Irony Lung And Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood.”  

(Interviewed by Vyoma Shah)