Vinapra, a Bangalore-based rock band, takes pridesto be the only rock band from the south of India to write songs in Hindi. However, when we started our band in 1998, we faced difficulty to get people who could play Hindi rock music. It took us nearly three years to get our first lineup ready, which however did not last for long. But, after a lot of testing times we have made an identity for our band. We just wanted to be different and it worked for us.

Vinapra is an acronym of the first lineup of the band. Somehow, the name never changed and people liked it because it is different. So we hung on to it. Probably it will mean something really big someday.

 

We started playing in 2000-01. We have shared the stage with a lot of big artistes like Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Parikrama, Euphoria, etc. We also play cover music of well-known bands like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, The Doors, but, mostly we promote our own compositions.

 

Freespirit and CRY to support child rights launched Asha Wali Dhoop, a special collection of tracks by some of the famous Indian musicians. We also contributed a song Dharti for the victims of the tsunami disaster in south Asia. It was a great pleasure to be with artists like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Sultan Khan, etc. The record company Free Spirit had heard to our songs and wanted us to compose one song for tsunami relief. It was a great feeling when we got to know all the big artists liked the song. It has been well accepted and it is available in all the major music stores across the country.

Our next album is ready to be released. We have about eight songs including mix of rock, folk and some raga-based songs. We are in contact with a few companies in Mumbai for the release of the album. Our video is being shot for the song ‘Gurur Brahma, gurur Vishnu’. Talks are on to finalise the second video. It will be a self-titled album. And, it should be out in a couple of months if all goes well.

 

Our music is rock but we sing in Hindi. We have a big country to sing for, and what is wrong with Hindi? You have to be original at some point, and we chose to be original from the very beginning. As Kurt Cobain, singer and guitarist of Nirvana, once said, ‘trying to be someone else is a waste of who you are.’ In the 1950s, there was nothing called rock, but later it took the world by storm. Who knows maybe we will end up being the pioneers of Hindi rock. Our struggle has been an ongoing process, from purchasing instruments, finding a place to jam, seizing time to jam in between our work.

As a songwriter I relate a lot to pain, which plays a big part in all our lives, some of us drink thinking about it, some crib and some sulk. The greatest joy a musician or a songwriter can get is when someone sings that song which is an amazing feeling. As a musician I like and respect a lot of Indian and international talent. I am a great admirer of Kishore Kumar, R D Burman, Pink Floyd, Nirvana and Aerosmith. As a musician one has to have an open mind, which is very important in my opinion.

We aim to be one of the biggest bands in the country. We want to contribute to the music scene, and make a difference, make more albums, more videos and lots of other stuff.

We personally feel it is amazing. There is a lot of original music in India. Our music is reaching international markets and we think things will change for the better very soon.

 

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