The Aristocrats on Returning to Tour India, New Material and Being Back on the Road

From clapping in odd-time signatures to raising a cheer for nearly every instrumental song – even when it’s not introduced – Indian audiences love The Aristocrats. Comprising British guitarist Guthrie Govan, American bassist Bryan Beller and German drummer Marco Minnemann, the trio fit the definition of funky, groovy and sometimes showoff-y rock and they’re bringing it back to India starting February 17th at the inaugural edition of Oddball Festival in Mumbai.

While Govan and Minnemann have traveled to India since The Aristocrats’ debut India tour in 2016 with their solo shows, the band’s current run of shows – as part of The Defrost Tour – sees them perform in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Kolkata. Not only does the tour come after quite a few years (the gap further widened by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic), but also after The Aristocrats have put out three albums since 2015’s Tres Caballeros. The setlist for the India shows will likely include material from 2019’s You Know What…? and new material that the band have been testing out on the road.

Ahead of the shows, Beller spoke with Rolling Stone India over email about the tour so far, how the pandemic-enforced lull affected them and their album with the Primuz Chamber Orchestra which came out in 2022. Excerpts:

How have the first few shows of the Defrost tour in Asia gone so far? You played in Osaka after quite a few years.

Bryan Beller: It’s going great. We feel stronger and more locked than ever, and we’re definitely glad to be back on the road doing what we were meant to do – play live and loud – for our fans around the world. And it’s been too long since we came to Asia, so we’re fixing that right now!

This India tour began with the Oddball Festival announcement and now there are more club shows. Considering the festival setting, are we going to hear slightly different sets at Oddball and then in the club shows?

Maybe! We haven’t figured it out yet, to be honest. I’m sure we’ll have a plan by the time we get onstage.

How has it been prepping to return to different parts of the world, like India, following the lull that came about during the pandemic?

A lot of what we do to get ready for a big international tour is the same as before – just making sure we have our set together, our equipment together, our logistics together. Boring stuff honestly! But we have a renewed appreciation for being able to do it in the first place after this long, unrequested pause.

During the pandemic, what was it like not being able to get up on a stage together as The Aristocrats? Do you feel like there’s a sonic language that you all share, that ran the risk of getting rusty, as was the case with so many bands who suddenly became “long-distance” and confined to Zoom calls and the likes?

I think that whatever language we are fortunate enough to share is somewhat timeless. After all, we didn’t even know we shared it when we first met, and there it was waiting for us. So if it survived the first 40 years of our lives when we weren’t a band, I trust that it will survive this short break from live shows, which is now thankfully over.

With the release of your album with the Primuz Chamber Orchestra, some people felt that when a band scales up to give us an offering like this, they also create an expectation that live shows could be on this level. We saw the studio footage of the orchestra in action, so are live concerts with them also in the works?

We love the work we did together with the Primuz Chamber Orchestra, and we’re grateful so many people enjoyed that unique collaboration. Right now, we’re focused on just getting back on tour, like so many other bands, and there are some additional logistical issues that didn’t exist in the past, so we’ll see as we get going. We’re certainly not ruling anything out.

You mentioned that there will be new and unheard material being tested out on this Asia tour. What kind of direction do these new tunes head in? What’s been an exciting thing about writing/performing these new songs in particular?

Like most of our material, it can go in any direction at any moment! But there’s a certain kind of excitement we have about this new material that we can’t quite describe. That’s probably good. I think the ideal state of music defies language’s ability to fully define it. Beyond that, I think we’ll have more to say when the time is right.

To ask a bit of a cliched question, what have been your favorite memories from India over the few times you’ve performed here, either with Aristocrats or your solo acts?

The incredibly enthusiastic fans, of course! Some of the loudest, most amazing crowds in the world. It’s such a thrill performing into that energy.

At Oddball Festival, you’re sharing the billing with the likes of Blackstratblues and MaMoGi, which has Mohini Dey in it. Are there support acts that you’re looking forward to catch during the festival dates?

We know there are a lot of great bands on the bill, and Mohini Dey is one of the world’s most incredible bassists. It’s always a little crazy on show days but we hope to see as much as we can.

What else is coming up through 2023 for The Aristocrats? 

We’re working on a new studio album, and we have touring coming up all over the U.K. and Europe. We’re looking forward to it all!

The Aristocrats Defrost India Tour 2023

February 17th — Oddball Festival, Phoenix Marketcity, Mumbai

February 18th — Oddball Festival, Phoenix Marketcity, Bengaluru

February 19th — Oddball Festival, DLF Avenue Saket, New Delhi

February 23rd — EXT by The Moonshine Project, Hyderabad

February 25th — Urban Mantra, Zoo Road, Guwahati

February 26th — 5 Mad Men, Kolkata

Get tickets here.