Indus Creed
Encyclopedia
Indus Creed is a rock
group from India
. It was founded in 1993 by Uday Benegal
(vocals
), Mark Selwyn (bass
), Mahesh Tinaikar (guitars
), Zubin Balaporia (keyboards) and Jayesh Gandhi
(guitars
).
). After playing just a few concerts in 1984, the lineup went though some changes. Jayesh Gandhi replaced Currim, Mark Menezes took Bhadricha's chair and Uday Benegal took over from Santamaria as lead vocalist. A few months later, Zubin Balaporia joined the band, adding keyboards to the lineup. Tinaikar, Selwyn, Gandhi, Benegal and Balaporia were to remain the core members of the band for a major portion of its existence.
Rock Machine started out as a "cover
" band, playing a mix of straight-ahead rock and hard rock by such bands as Thin Lizzy
, UFO
, The Who
, Deep Purple
, Van Halen
and Rush
. Based in Mumbai, Rock Machine were one of the earliest bands in India to tour the country extensively, performing at college and independently promoted rock festivals. Bucking the country’s covers-only trend, Rock Machine soon began to write and perform their own songs. The band’s original tunes soon began to gain increasing popularity.
, Nagaland
and Meghalaya
. Rock Machine's well-rehearsed and high-voltage stage performances made them very popular among rock audiences all across India. Their follow-up album, The Second Coming, was released in 1990 and featured a more slickly produced sound than their debut album. The Second Coming also contained “Pretty Child,” a song that went relatively unnoticed at the time, but which was to catapult the band to supergroup status a few years later.
The early 1990s saw a major shift in the entertainment landscape in India. The arrival of MTV
onto Indian airwaves in 1992 made new American and British music more accessible to Indian listeners. It was also the year that Mark Menezes left Rock Machine and was replaced by drummer Bobby Duggal. Rock Machine’s first music video to air on MTV Asia was very successful. “Top of the Rock,” directed by Deven Khote of UTV
, was put on heavy rotation by MTV in the light of enthusiastic viewer response. The success of the video served as a launchpad for a spate of bands and artists across the country. Rock Machine had moved from “college darlings” to national rock icons.
and sarangi
. When their video of “Pretty Child,” directed by Subir Chatterjee and Namita Roy Ghose of Whitelight Moving Picture Co., was released in 1993, the response was unprecedented. MTV instantly put the artistic video on massive rotation. The surreal black-and-white film captured the imagination of a whole generation, winning Indus Creed an Asia-wide MTV Video Music Award (Asian Viewer's Choice Award). The same year, MTV ranked “Pretty Child” the 9th best video of the year, competing with such international heavyweight artists as Madonna
and Michael Jackson
.
In 1994, Indus Creed released their first album under their new name. The self-titled album was recorded in Los Angeles and promoted extensively on MTV and Channel V, a new music channel on Rupert Murdoch
’s rapidly expanding Star TV
network. Indus Creed released two videos to support the album: “Trapped” and “Sleep.” The drummer’s chair saw a yet another change when Bobby Duggal was replaced in 1995 by Adrian Fernandes. Indus Creed continued to tour heavily across India as well as explore other regions like the UK and the Middle East. In 1996, MTV flew down Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash
to play on stage with Indus Creed at the channel’s relaunch as MTV India
in Bangalore
, India.
at the end of 1999 with their new fusion rock band Alms For Shanti and released an eponymous album in 2000. Alms For Shanti played the NYC club circuit heavily, as well as at festivals and colleges, including Kenyon College
in Gambier, Ohio
. In 2002, Alms For Shanti released their first and only Hindi-language album Kashmakash (Free Spirit).
’s Harley Rock Riders concert at Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai. In December 2010, the band embarked on their Reboot Tour, headlining concerts and festivals across India, including the Cherrapunjee Indigenous Festival in Assam, Harley Rock Riders finale in New Delhi, Independence Rock XXV in Mumbai and the South Asian Bands Festival in New Delhi
. Indus Creed are currently working on a new album which they expect to release sometime in 2011.
1988: Rock'n'Roll Renegade (CBS)
Rock Machine
1990: The Second Coming (Magnasound)
Indus Creed
1995: Indus Creed (BMG-Crescendo)
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It was founded in 1993 by Uday Benegal
Uday Benegal
Uday Benegal is the lead singer, principal songwriter and one of the founding members of the pioneering Indian rock band Indus Creed...
(vocals
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
), Mark Selwyn (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), Mahesh Tinaikar (guitars
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
), Zubin Balaporia (keyboards) and Jayesh Gandhi
Jayesh Gandhi
Jayesh Gandhi . He was the music assistant of Himesh Reshammiya and a playback singer & background vocalist.As LyricistManorama Six Feet Under As Music DirectorRann Manorama Six Feet Under As Playback Singer...
(guitars
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
).
History
Indus Creed was originally called Rock Machine, which was created in 1984 and featured Mahesh Tinaikar, Mark Selwyn, Ian Santamaria (vocals), Aftab Currim (rhythm guitar) and Suresh Bhadricha (drumsDrum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). After playing just a few concerts in 1984, the lineup went though some changes. Jayesh Gandhi replaced Currim, Mark Menezes took Bhadricha's chair and Uday Benegal took over from Santamaria as lead vocalist. A few months later, Zubin Balaporia joined the band, adding keyboards to the lineup. Tinaikar, Selwyn, Gandhi, Benegal and Balaporia were to remain the core members of the band for a major portion of its existence.
Rock Machine started out as a "cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
" band, playing a mix of straight-ahead rock and hard rock by such bands as Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
, UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
and Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
. Based in Mumbai, Rock Machine were one of the earliest bands in India to tour the country extensively, performing at college and independently promoted rock festivals. Bucking the country’s covers-only trend, Rock Machine soon began to write and perform their own songs. The band’s original tunes soon began to gain increasing popularity.
Releases
In 1988, Rock Machine released their first album, Rock’n’Roll Renegade. Hailed as India's first all-original rock album, it was a huge success and was widely pirated in regions where distribution was scarce, as in the northeastern Indian states of AssamAssam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
and Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...
. Rock Machine's well-rehearsed and high-voltage stage performances made them very popular among rock audiences all across India. Their follow-up album, The Second Coming, was released in 1990 and featured a more slickly produced sound than their debut album. The Second Coming also contained “Pretty Child,” a song that went relatively unnoticed at the time, but which was to catapult the band to supergroup status a few years later.
The early 1990s saw a major shift in the entertainment landscape in India. The arrival of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
onto Indian airwaves in 1992 made new American and British music more accessible to Indian listeners. It was also the year that Mark Menezes left Rock Machine and was replaced by drummer Bobby Duggal. Rock Machine’s first music video to air on MTV Asia was very successful. “Top of the Rock,” directed by Deven Khote of UTV
UTV Software Communications
UTV Software Communications Ltd., also known as United Television or UTV, is an Indian media and entertainment company owned by The Walt Disney Company India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.-History:...
, was put on heavy rotation by MTV in the light of enthusiastic viewer response. The success of the video served as a launchpad for a spate of bands and artists across the country. Rock Machine had moved from “college darlings” to national rock icons.
Change of Name
Seeking a change of image and sound from that of a college-style band to a more internationally suited one, Rock Machine changed their name to Indus Creed in 1993. They began to experiment a bit with Indian instruments, such as tablaTabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
and sarangi
Sarangi
The Sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of India which is originated from Rajasthani folk instruments. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition...
. When their video of “Pretty Child,” directed by Subir Chatterjee and Namita Roy Ghose of Whitelight Moving Picture Co., was released in 1993, the response was unprecedented. MTV instantly put the artistic video on massive rotation. The surreal black-and-white film captured the imagination of a whole generation, winning Indus Creed an Asia-wide MTV Video Music Award (Asian Viewer's Choice Award). The same year, MTV ranked “Pretty Child” the 9th best video of the year, competing with such international heavyweight artists as Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
.
In 1994, Indus Creed released their first album under their new name. The self-titled album was recorded in Los Angeles and promoted extensively on MTV and Channel V, a new music channel on Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
’s rapidly expanding Star TV
STAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
network. Indus Creed released two videos to support the album: “Trapped” and “Sleep.” The drummer’s chair saw a yet another change when Bobby Duggal was replaced in 1995 by Adrian Fernandes. Indus Creed continued to tour heavily across India as well as explore other regions like the UK and the Middle East. In 1996, MTV flew down Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
to play on stage with Indus Creed at the channel’s relaunch as MTV India
MTV India
MTV India is the Indian version of MTV , a channel specialising in music and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 and is now part of the Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd based in Mumbai. . "MTV India" is one of the oldest Music Television Networks in Asia...
in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India.
The End of an Era
Disillusioned with the way the music industry was changing in India, and with some members keen to embark on other musical pursuits, Indus Creed shut shop in 1997. Uday Benegal and Jayesh Gandhi moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the end of 1999 with their new fusion rock band Alms For Shanti and released an eponymous album in 2000. Alms For Shanti played the NYC club circuit heavily, as well as at festivals and colleges, including Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
in Gambier, Ohio
Gambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....
. In 2002, Alms For Shanti released their first and only Hindi-language album Kashmakash (Free Spirit).
Reunion
In 2008, Uday Benegal relocated back to Mumbai, where he and Mahesh Tinaikar teamed up to create their acoustic side project Whirling Kalapas. In 2010, Benegal and Tinaikar regrouped with ex-bandmate Zubin Balaporia to re-form Indus Creed. They recruited Pune bass player Rushad Mistry and drummer Jai Row Kavi to complete the outfit, now down to a five-piece band from the original six-member group. The newly formed Indus Creed was officially launched on October 7, 2010, when they headlined Harley DavidsonHarley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
’s Harley Rock Riders concert at Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai. In December 2010, the band embarked on their Reboot Tour, headlining concerts and festivals across India, including the Cherrapunjee Indigenous Festival in Assam, Harley Rock Riders finale in New Delhi, Independence Rock XXV in Mumbai and the South Asian Bands Festival in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. Indus Creed are currently working on a new album which they expect to release sometime in 2011.
Current Band
- Uday Benegal - vocals, guitars, programming
- Mahesh Tinaikar – guitars, vocals
- Zubin Balaporia – keyboards, vocalese, vocals
- Rushad Mistry – bass, vocals
- Jai Row Kavi - drums, vocals
Discography & Track Listing
Rock Machine1988: Rock'n'Roll Renegade (CBS)
- The Enemy Within
- Top of the Rock
- Prisoner of Passion
- Chains and Black Leather
- Can't Wait Anymore
- Rock'n'Roll Renegade
- Karen
- Polivinyl Lady
- Rockin' in the USSR
- Ode to Scooby Doo
Rock Machine
1990: The Second Coming (Magnasound)
- Turn it On
- Bowl of Madness
- Crazy
- Die for Your Country
- Believing
- Cinderella
- Pretty Child
- Screaming Out
Indus Creed
1995: Indus Creed (BMG-Crescendo)
- Trapped
- Sleep
- New Day
- Thrown it All Away
- Best Friend
- Fly
- Cry
- Celibate
- Play
- Book of Dreams