Long-awaited Come Back

Do you remember grooving to the beats of songs like 'Gori', 'Ishq' and 'She Drives Me Crazy'?

Let's take a walk down the memory lane to the time when India's first boy band – A Band of Boys (formed in 2001)– made people go gaga over their music. They didn't just compose the aforementioned chartbusters but also created a new image for pop in the country.

Though the band (now comprising Karan Oberoi, Danny Fernandes, Chint2 Bhosale and Sherrin Varghese) was dissolved after giving sensational hits, their songs still manage to strike a chord with the music lovers.

The fans have long been anticipating to hear more from their idols and it looks like it may be coming soon. Their comeback has been confirmed by Varkey Patani, Co-partner of 'Go Live Talent and Record', who asserts that the band was never dissolved, rather each member was busy focussing on their individual careers.

"Discovering his passion for acting, Karan got busy working is tele soaps, web series, and commercials, whereas Sherrin continued singing on live shows. Also, he released a new single titled 'Kya Raaz Hai Tu Zindagi' recently. Chin2 became a music teacher, while Danny took to choreography and formed a trio (Savio, Junjan, and Danny) that contributed to shows like Dance India Dance and Jhalak Dikhlaja.

Speaking of how the decision of making a comeback was taken, Patani says, "Back in 2009, when we were auditioning a band named Sanam (earlier known as SQS), members of ABOB were called as the chief guests. We got to know each other and became good friends. But it was only a year back, we started contemplating their comeback."

"The boys knew that I have been into Indie pop scene for quite a long, and recognized my inclination towards independent music. So, after considering other important factors like the availability of online platforms, changing scenarios in the music industry and the eagerness among fans, we decided to finally re-launch them," added Patani who has built singers like Arjit Singh, Shahid Mallya and Romy from the scratch.

To talk more about their comeback, their upcoming projects, and a lot more, we decided to catch up with the band. Here are few excerpts from the conversation:

The music industry has changed quite a lot. How have you decided to retain your style while catering to the demands of today's audience?

Sherrin: To be honest, we have our USP in terms of our voices which when put together sounds like a harmonious unit. We have been carrying this USP for 10 years. People have loved it, and we are confident that even 10 years later they will love it the same way. So that retains our identity in the market as a totally harmonic boy band.

Karan: We definitely adapt to what's the trend today, what people are consuming and what they like – but we make sure to blend everything with our melodic essence because that's our strength. To be honest, every artist will express what they feel – with her/his essence – and then leave the rest to the audience to love it or hate it. The essence is really very important.

Are you looking forward to experimenting with other genres of music?

Sherrin: To be honest, here the whole idea of fitting a song into a bracket – in terms of genre of a music – is something which came around 5 or 6 years ago. If you ask me, a great song is something that you can hum with the snap of your finger. The whole song should be very radiant and retainable in terms of the melody, and hence the focus on the arrangement is not very important. Whether an EDM arrangement makes our song better or the classic rock arrangement, for us it totally depends on the melody as it is the only factor that retains. Our focus is and has always been more on rendering a great sounding song and than on deciding what arrangement really goes with it.

In India, it is really hard for independent music makers to survive. Would you mind working with filmmakers who might take away your liberty and space, and pressurize you to work according to their whims and fancies?

Chin2: Absolutely! Let me tell you my take on this. There is one kind of music that you create. It is your expression – unadulterated and pure. You have all the liberty to choose what to say and how to say it. Most of the people prefer this way of working as it is more comfortable and easy. The other way is where you interpret someone else's expression and create music as per their needs. It might sound difficult, but when you do music according to someone else's idea of it, you actually grow. You are forced to step out of your cocoon, push your boundaries and explore your hidden potentials.

The process of learning comprises of criticism as well as applause. The negative comments might hurt you a little, but it eventually helps you become better at your work. So, when people don't like the music I create, I try to make improvements. And trust me, the end product truly makes me proud of how I overcame the challenge.

Karan: As independent musicians, you express what you see but as music directors, or Bollywood people, you test yourself and try to meet their requirement. And it's really wonderful for a musician, I believe. We'd be happy if such an opportunity comes our way – In fact, there is! I have a film coming out quite soon and 'A band of boys' have done a song for it. It's so apt that when it comes, it totally elevates the mood.

The most popular band of the 90s is making a comeback. Is it exciting or pressurizing to meet up to the expectations of your fans?

Karan: Whenever you do something that you love, obviously it is very exciting. The idea to do music is itself so exciting. I am so much full of enthusiasm right now and totally looking forward to the reaction of the people.

Sherrin: I think, we have a childlike feeling right now. We have something we love and believe in and therefore we are really not thinking about what's going to happen next. The excitement is overshadowing all the stress.

Please talk about your comeback song 'Yuhi jalne Ko'. How different was it to work together after so many years?

Karan: 'Yuhi jalne ko' was quite a fun experience for all of us. But at the same time, it wasn't very easy as we had to bring back our old strengths to sing and dance together. Thankfully, training for it with other talented dancers kept us on our toes. We had been performing together – though not very regularly – in the interim period. And because of that, the vibe was pretty much the same. The band was never dissolved, it just became inactive for a few years where each one of us focussed on our individual careers. But to be back like this is quite a blessing and way too much fun which we had missed out on. I can't really wait to tour again with my boys.