Rijul Victor: ‘Metal Musicians are the Most Judgmental, Opinionated’

With Corridors, Rijul Victor will explore both dance and ambient electronica. Photo: Vibhor Yadav

With the start of his electronic project Corridors, Delhi-based producer Rijul Victor is ready to start a new chapter of his life. Although he is known primarily as the drummer of prog metallers Colossal Figures, Victor feels that metal isn’t something he wants to spend any more time working on. “To be honest with you, I am done with metal,” he says over the phone from New Delhi.  “I’ve lost hope with [it.] There is no scope for metal considering our demographic of being in India.”

Although a key factor of him not wanting to continue with the genre was the death of Colossal Figures’ vocalist Govind Marodia in 2015, Victor is more frustrated with the ignorance that runs rampant in the metal community. “Metal musicians are the most judgmental, opinionated motherfuckers,” he says, explaining that he was called a “sellout” for announcing an electronic music project. “I would say it’s [about] ignorance and not being open to the music the world has to offer.” And what does that mean for Colossal Figures? Victor says they probably will not be releasing new material in the future. “We will continue as a band by playing the music we have right now,” he is quick to assure. “But everyone’s moved on since he [Marodia] passed away.”

All band members have worked on various other projects over the past year and Victor personally finds solace in electronic music; he sees it as a form of escape and healing. “I write Corridors as therapy because I have a clinical anxiety disorder,” he reveals, saying that there were times in the past when he didn’t want to go onstage because the panic attacks got severe. He would even turn his car around on the way to gigs. “I could not find music on the Internet that could calm me down so I started making it.” Another key reason for recording under the moniker of Corridors was the opportunity to be able to showcase more of his talent as a musician and not just a drummer. “I play twelve different instruments,” he says. “People don’t know that.”

As Corridors, Victor is exploring both dance and ambient electronica. His first single, “April Flows,” leans more on the ambient side, featuring haunting guest vocals by New Delhi singer-songwriter Nisa Shetty. Tiny electronic beeps and tinkles add an otherworldly feel to the track. “Ambience gives you a sense of space from an audio point of view which you cannot experience anywhere else,” says Victor about his experimentation with the genre. His upcoming debut album Modree [named after Marodia and due October 13th] is mostly about this idea of space and its album art also inspired by the same thing. “I did not want anything except a blank canvas,” Victor says, adding that he found what he was looking for in the Great Rann of Kutch, a salt plain located in Gujarat.

Lyrically, the album is a commentary on the changing nature of humanity, an analysis of human behavior. “People, I meet, my parents, every human or non human association”¦ It’s [about] my interaction with that,” he says. Victor also says while the music is happy, the lyrics come from a dark place, creating an intentionally conflicting message. “I’ve written a song for my friend who passed away and it’s a sex song, so it’s weird that way,” he says. “So the vibes are happy, but there’s an agenda behind the meaning.”

Although Modree is named after a former bandmate and features about ten collaborations, Victor says he prefers being a solo artist than part of a band or group. “I don’t have to look at four other members and ask for an agreement. I would like to be selfish for once as a musician.”

Listen to “April Flows” by Corridors featuring Nisa below: