The Shakey Rays Bring “Brown Soul” To Blue Frog

Photo: Vishal K. Swamy.

Chennai-based indie rock band The Shakey Rays, who perform at Blue Frog this Wednesday, July 4, have a sound that’s unlike that of their countrywide counterparts. Yet, their music is undoubtedly familiar. Like their city mates Adam and the Fish Eyed Poets and Delhi’s Peter Cat Recording Co. with whom they share a sonic sensibility, the Shakey Rays, made up of vocalists-guitarists-songwriters-composers Dhruva Gautham and Vikram Kannan, drummer Niranjan Swaminathan and bassist Iuni Yoomi, make songs that pull influences from the past few decades of popular music history. As far we know, they’re India’s prime purveyors of blues-flecked, R&B-infused garage rock.

It’s a sound that’s equally influenced by acts they discovered through their parents’ record collections, such as those on the Chess and Motown labels (everyone from Muddy Waters to Marvin Gaye), as well as their love for 1980s alternative groups such as The Smiths, and REM. We’d like to say they’re what happens when the White Stripes mix with “brown soul”. From the swinging rock n’ roll of “Down The Drain and Eight Floors High” to the Beatles tribute that is “Hard To Understand”, the varied mix on their debut album, Tunes From The Big Belly (listen to it here) won them rave reviews on Indian indie music blogs upon release in August 2011. They don’t, however, see themselves as any sort of musical revivalists. “It’s a tradition we identify with, not a genre or style,” says Gautham. “Our sound combines our Rhythm n’ Blues roots (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Otis Redding) with a punk/garage [rock] live approach.” Their set tonight will feature most of their ten-song debut album plus a few new tracks slated for their sophomore set. Since it’s their live debut in Mumbai, those who have yet to hear Tunes From The Big Belly will get to find out what the fuss is about, while the rest of us will learn if the proverbial hype they’ve generated is justified.

Mumbai-based alternative rock group The Koniac Net will perform before The Shakey Rays.

Blue Frog

LocationMathuradas Mills Compound
Opposite Kamala Mills
Tulsi Pipe Road
Lower Parel

Phone022 6158 6158

Relevant DatesWednesday, July 4

Hours9.30pm

Ticketing & Price InfoRs300

Websitewww.bluefrog.co.in