The Teenager Today – July 2019

Verus Ferreira covers the hottest desi and international artists

for THE TEENAGER TODAY. Passionate about music, he is the

author of The Great Music Quiz Book and The Great Rock

Music Quiz Book. A freelance journalist for over 25 years, he

also contributes to the Afternoon DC and Musicunplugged.in

and piano, Aarifah has been trained in
drums.

Do you also have other musical
projects / bands you work on besides
Ladies Compartment?

LC: Aditi has Voctronica and her solo
project, Ramya has her solo project,
a duo called Water and Rum, while
Aarifah has her solo project, and punk
band called Toycatcher.

What kind of music do you usually
perform?

LC: As a band we seem to lean more
towards R&B and blues.

structures in certain bits. In our newest

song, Aarifah created a rhythmic

pattern which the whole band then sat

together in one space. Each of us has

written our own verse over the same

music and you can see how different

we are as individuals by the varied

ways in which we all have interpreted

the music. There is no one process

we follow and we are continuously

experimenting with different methods.

So our songwriting has been very

random so far, we’ve been working at

finding a structured way of writing as

a band and that process will take time

as we’re musicians that are all used to

With the indie scene still at a

somewhat nascent stage, what

changes would you like to see for

artistes to really succeed and cross

over into larger audiences?

LC: Monetary returns for artistes in

the indie scene need to go up. There

needs to be more respect for artistes,

and the careers of artists need to be

more sustainable for them to grow and

reach larger audiences. There is an

attitude with many venues that if they

can get the same act for a lower cost

they’ll take the opportunity and pay

them less. As a result, many artistes are

scrambling for survival, and this often

stunts their artistic development and

ability to reach more people.

In a male-dominated music industry,

have you faced any sexism? Do you

want to see a change?

LC: Every one faces sexism

whether you’re a male or a female.

We are often underestimated or not

taken seriously by concert goers or

venue programmers. Sometimes a

programmer will say we can’t get a

drum kit and must do with a cajon

when we know for a fact that bands

with male members have used drum

kits at such gigs. However, we combat

this by being assertive to such people,

not dwelling on it and instead aiming to

excel in everything we do. Do we want

to see a change? Of course. But change

takes time, with open-mindedness and

being willing to change.

For young people who want to be

musicians in India: what is the one

thing you would tell them not to do?

LC: Peer pressure is real. Take advice

and critique from people about your

music, but do not be in a rush to

release anything. Take your time.

Discover your music. And when you’re

ready, release it. Not because anyone

else is telling you to release it, but

because you want to.

What are your future plans for the

band?

LC: To write more and to flesh out

our sound. We are also in the process

of arranging new covers, so you

can expect new material at our live

performances.

Who are your musical influences?
LC: Each of us has our own influences
and styles and bringing that to the
band is fun as it mixes things up.

Give us some details into your
songwriting process. How do you go
about it?

LC: There is no one process we
follow. With our earlier songs, Aditi
would come up with chords and
a rough melody. The band would
add instrumentation together, while
Ramya and Aditi worked on lyrics and
Aarifah and Nandita sealed the piece
with smooth transitions and rhythmic
patterns. With one of our newer songs,
Nandita wrote the lyrics, melody,
bassline and backing vocal parts and
the band fleshed it out by adding
instruments and modifying the chord

writing a certain way individually, and

no, we have no music out yet.

Are the members of your group fixed,

or do you have other members who

join in occasionally?

LC: We started off as four members,

but we hope to collaborate with other

artistes, too.

You also do covers besides a few

originals. Do any of the songs address

women’s issues?

LC: The covers are usually songs that we

enjoy singing/playing. We feel our songs

are real and relatable to almost anyone.

What do you want changed in

the music industry for girls?

LC: Bands comprising all

female members should

be considered a

band and not a ‘girl

band’. More female

musicians should

be encouraged

to play and

the novelty

value of female

musicians

should be

replaced with

a genuine

appreciation

of their

musicianship.