Sing Along To Avial Tonight

Uber-popular Malayalam rock group Avial, which plays Blue Frog this Thursday, May 24, say on their official website that they are “possibly the only band in the history of music that took four years to release their first album“. While that claim may be disputable, what’s fairly certain is that Kerala-based Avial is not the most prolific of acts. They’ve given us a mere six tracks since the release of their self-titled debut in 2008 (we’re not counting their collaboration with Italian band A67 which, for obvious reasons, they don’t perform at their concerts). Fans have perhaps grown so accustomed to hearing the same set of songs over and over again that they know all the words, and are given to singing them out loud at the group’s gigs. Sometimes however, they are forced to do so when vocalist Tony John seems incapable of stepping up to the job. John’s lack of preparation is something that has led a few Indian indie scenesters to express their annoyance in various forms, from concerned rants to comic strips.

In his defence, John told us that their “whole album was defined for” the voice of former lead singer Anandraj Benjamin Paul, who left the band before the record’s release, leaving him to take on vocal duties. He has a somewhat more convincing reason for Avial’s slow rate of generating new material. “We’re very lazy people,” said John. As a result, their long-awaited sophomore album won’t be finished until the end of the year. They’re toying with the idea, said John, of a double-CD with one disc containing the film songs they’ve composed over the last couple of years. In fact, five of the aforementioned six tunes are contributions to Malayalam film soundtracks—“Aana Kallan” from the comedy Salt N’ Pepper, “Aiyo”, “Arambath” and “Thithithara” from the action flick Second Show, and “Chillane” from the drama 22 Female Kottayam. The sixth, and arguably most infectious of the lot, is “SuprabathaKali”, which they were commissioned to record by The Times of India for the launch of the newspaper’s Kerala edition.

Blue Frog

LocationMathuradas Mills Compound
Opposite Kamala Mills
Tulsi Pipe Road
Lower Parel

Phone6158 6158

Relevant DatesThursday, May 24

Hours10pm

Ticketing & Price InfoRs300

Websitewww.bluefrog.co.in