Avial, Politically-aware and ideologically driven . . .

Full View Please . . .

“Politically-aware and ideologically driven”, that’s how Rave, one of India’s top music magazines, described Malayali rock band Avial in its October 2006 issue. While it’s true that the lyrics of many songs featured in the band’s debut album ~ AVIAL ~ reflects on a deep sense of eternal timeless awareness, there is a good chance that the global listener relates to the album simply because its musically sound.

With elements of Indie rock and folk, embedded in each of the eight songs featured in their fist album, Avial has managed to mix to perfection and share with its listeners an altogether unique sound, what the band members calls “alternative Malayali rock”.

Rex Vijayan: Guitars ~ The Ernakulam-based guitarist who learnt to play at a very young age, began his musical career by mastering cover versions. He was part of a popular band called Motherjane based out of Kochi in the early 90s. The session artiste is actively involved with the Daksha Seth Dance Company ~ a contemporary dance group ~ and still performs for them at various shows in India and abroad.

Anand Raj Benjamin Paul: Vocals ~ The vocalist from Thrissur with a unique voice that renders a primeval quality to many of the songs featured in the album. The singer also dabbled as an English teacher until he quit, to dedicate his full-time to music. He has many stage shows in India and abroad to his credit. Guess what? He sings jingles to unwind.

Mithun Puthanveetil : Drums ~ The drummer boy always hears a distant beat. Versatile on the tabla and a wide range of percussion instruments, Mithun dabbled with pop music before finding his true calling ~ Funk and Rock. Until recently he played drums for a Thiruvananthapuram-based heavy metal band called Rage.

Tony John: Vocals, Turntables and Synth ~ As a vocalist, his initial claim to fame came in 90s with a hard-rock band called Karizma. Now known as the dexterous fingers that create magic on turntables, he has contributed two songs in Avial’s debut album. Tony has been a vocalist and percussionist for the Daksha Seth Dance Company. Together with Rex, he has won appreciation with many an international audience.

Naresh Kamath: Bass Guitar ~ The non-Malayali truly defines that music needs no language. Naresh has an ardent fan following as the Bass Guitarist of Bombay Black, which opened for Aerosmith at the Glen Helen Amphitheatre in LA in 2001. He has been an active musician in the Indian rock scene for the past 14 years, currently producing music for Bollywood, based in Mumbai.

www.phat-phish.com/avial/
www.myspace.com/avialmusic

~ by artisticked on May 13, 2008.