Chennai band Skrat, Pentagram’s Vishal Dadlani and Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar combine forces for X-Men

Promotional picture for the track “Mutant Macha.” Photo: Courtesy FarOut Media

Alternative is mainstream and mainstream can be alternative as is evident from the recently released soundtrack of the movie Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. The track “Mutant Macha” is further proof of this. Chennai garage rockers Skrat have collaborated with Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar and Mumbai electro rock band vocalist slash Bollywood composer Vishal Dadlani to create this rock jam for English television channel Star Movies’ video for the premiere of X Men: Days of Future Past.

We caught up with Skrat and Dadlani at Enzy Recording Studios in suburban Mumbai while they were in the process of recording. Says Dadlani, “There’s a purpose to the song, and it’s not what Skrat is used to and neither what I’m used to, in a rock and roll context. We want to make sure that it doesn’t go into that space. We’re trying to take it away from anything that might be obviously linked to any film or project or anything, and make it a song that has a life of its own, that we can believe in and back up,” he says.

The song came to life as result of Akhtar’s music publishing company, FarOut Media. Skrat frontman Sriram T.T. admits that the band was initially hesitant to believe the news. Says Sriram, “We’ve come to be very careful of what we expect out of being an independent band in the country. You’ve been told ”˜No’ so many times, we didn’t know whether it’s going to happen.” Gesturing to the swanky Enzy studios, Sriram says, “And right now, in my opinion, this is a very unique experience, because it’s the first time an indie band is recording in a studio like this.”

FarOut Media, which was set up by Akhtar and co-founder Anurag Rao, is a company that aims to connect indie bands with a larger audience and help them create revenue models. Having been a part of the music industry for over a decade, Rao felt that the company is the need of the hour considering the constant financial troubles that alternative bands in the country face. He adds, “We actually wanted to create this artist-centric ecosystem for independent artists and musicians, and help them collaborate with established artists and introduce them to broadcast TV or sports [entertainment] or advertising.” It’s also how they managed to cut a deal to create a video for the song, featuring the trio performing the track, interspersed with clips from the movie to promote the Star Movies premiere of X Men: Days Of Future Past.

Sriram adds that the experience was unlike any collaboration that the band had done in the past. The vocalist adds, “Usually in the band, I’m the one writing lyrics. It’s the first time for me that I’ve been in a situation where I’m actually writing with other people.” Sriram admits that he was quite awed by both Dadlani and Akhtar. “I was a little afraid that Vishal Dadlani was going to be there. We’ve only heard Vishal’s legend. And Farhan”¦ he’s a movie star. I was a little star struck, I’m not going to deny it,” he laughs. “Everyone says they’re easy to work with, when they actually aren’t. But Farhan is,” Sriram says.

Watch the video for “Mutant Macha” by Skrat, Farhan Akhtar and Vishal Dadlani here.