This article first appeared in The Bangalore Mirror
In a male dominated live music space, four girls have set
out to change the way things work, all while trying to play a genre that we
have seldom heard of in the indoe music scene in India – Reggae Rock. Formed in January, The Void comprises of
Vinaya (lead guitarist), Anagha (vocalist), Rithika (rhythm guitarist) and
Suvarna (drummer). While three of them
are pursuing their BA at Mount Carmel College, Survarna is a final year law student
at KLE in Rajajinagar.
It was during a sports session at their college that Rithika
suggested that the girls put a band together considering their common love for
music. It took a while to figure out the
line-up (their first drummer quit early on) but since Suvarna, their current
drummer, joined them, the girls have been on a roll. “In a largely male-dominated music scenario,
the all-girl tag is interesting and often we see ourselves being
underestimated. Plus, the crowd never
expects us to play rock covers,” Survana says.
Their set list comprises five originals (“Free,” “Rag Doll,” “Two in the
Making” etc) and covers such as “Skyfall,” “Titanium” and “Freedom.” Their range varies from Rock, Alternative,
Slow, Punk and Reggae.
Not wanting to be slotted into any category, Anagha says “Since
we are new, we are experimenting with different genres. We like Reggae as well as Rock and we figured
we’d combine the two. Also, we haven’t
come across any other band that plays this sound.” While this definitely makes theor act unique,
it also leaves them vulnerable to closer scrutiny. Considering the fact that they only found
their footing a few months ago (their “first proper show” was in August), The
Void has the potential to become an act worthy of headlining a festival. So far, the band counts their Independence
day performance at Koramangala restobar Gilly’s as their best gig. “It was pretty exciting because we played our
first few songs in front of a crowd for half an hour. We loved every moment on stage,” Rithika
says.
Given that the band members are aged between 19 and 21, its
no surprise that their biggest challenge has been working around curfews set by
their concerned parents. So far, they
have managed to tackle this problem by requesting for earlier slots, but they
are still in the process of convincing parents to let them play a little later
as well!
Connect with these ladies on Facebook >>> https://www.facebook.com/TheVoidBangalore
