Scribe Fans Gear Up

Scribe are ready to, perhaps, escape the category that the chaotic and powerful arrangements of their 2007 EP Have Hard, Will Core had placed them within. The Mumbai-based band claims that their upcoming album is in an altogether different space than what was one of the most impressive underground releases last year. This one’s titled Confect. and according to guitar player Prashant Shah, “the songs are more structured and also tread into ambient and melodic arrangements.” While this may sound blasphemous to fans of this quintet, who’ve been asserting and re-asserting their reputation as one of the premier hardcore acts in the country, but Shah, rather eloquently, explains that he “doesn’t give a shit.”

The album will be mixed and mastered through a joint effort that combines Sahil Makhija (of Demonic Resurrection) and Akshay Raj Purohit’s (one-half of Scribe’s guitar talents) skills and sensibilities. And according to the latter, “this album shall not sound as raw as the previous one. It’s heavy but the texturing is different.” They’re also including a cover on this one ”“ their take on Del Amitri’s ”˜Roll to Me,’ a song that they all love.

The fact that each one in the band admits to being influenced by other alternative sounds is, merely finding its spot within their sound. “It would be foolish to say we’re not a heavy band. It’s at the core of what we do,” says drummer Niraj Trivedi. “But,” adds vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, “this will definitely surprise you ”“ irrespective of whether you like it or not.” It would, also, be rather uncharacteristic of people to not expect a heavy album, and Trivedi concurs to the same. “It’s probably a big deal for people, but, as a band we had already moved ahead of the sound on Have Hard, Will Core by the time we released it,” he adds. In fact, owing to the very same reason, the band agrees on the fact that this album, too, should have been released earlier. Shah, who is, in essence, the principal songwriter in the band, thus, takes considerable blame for inducing such a pattern.

“Writing songs is like a compulsive disorder for him,” bassist Shrinivas Sunderrajan mentions, and as a consequence of the same, Scribe would rather focus on recording and releasing. “The EP is supposed to have made us a ”˜popular’ band, despite the fact that we get paid as little as any other metal band and obtain as few gigs. This album will clear the air a little about how ”˜accepted’ we are,” mentions Krishnamoorthy. Apparently the songs for a third album have already entered the jam-space and in that sense, by the time Confect. trickles down to the people, “acceptance” will have further catching up to do. “This album is for the five of us ”“ about the space we occupy as musicians and bandmates and fortunately, or unfortunately, we are a little more than breakdowns and being heavy,” says Shah.

Apart from having zeroed-in on a definite theme for the artwork of Confect., they’re busy brainstorming on potential ideas for a video that they plan to release for a song off the album. “Our association with creative and media-related fields outside the jam-room also means that a lot of our frustrations and interests are shared,” mentions Sunderrajan, who, admits that since their song-writing is guitar-driven, three-fifths of the band forms important peripheries to a central engine. “It’s a dream situation,” Trivedi chuckles. “You’re hearing some of the best music ”“ as a fan ”“ and it’s coming out of your own band.” Just there, it sounds like an ideal situation and such solid backing tends to have its own vouchers of attitude.

Scribe
Prashant Shah – guitars
Akshay Raj Purohit – guitars
Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy – vocals
Niraj Trivedi – drums
Shrinivas Sunderrajan ”“ bass