Northeast Indian origin band, ‘Jammers Graveyard’- Highlighting social issues, one composition at a time!
Interviewed by Shweta Raj Kanwar | January 2, 2019
Since 2011, a Northeast Indian origin pioneering Technical/Slam Deathcore band- Jammers Graveyard from Guwahati, Assam is bringing to light the exploitation caused by religious beliefs, environmental hazards triggered by human activities and social issues that negatively affect people within a society through their compositions.
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Their philosophy, "Musicians die, but their spirit remains" inspires them to celebrate music and not confine it only to the artists' existence. This 4-member band comprises of Anuj Dorji (Vocals), Pawan Damai (Guitar), Bikash Subba (Bass) and Joy Das (Drums).
Having played as a supporting act with some well known international bands like Skinned (Colorado) and Voice of Ruin (Switzerland) while on their India tour, Jammers Graveyard is all set to welcome The Ocean Collective (Germany) on 17th January '19 in the Guwahati leg of their India tour.
And while the band currently works on their debut EP titled 'Man Inhumane' which is scheduled to be released by March 2019, TNT- The Northeast Today caught up with the band members of Jammers Graveyard. Here are excerpts from our interview with the band.
TNT: Please give our readers a brief introduction of each band members comprising Jammer's Graveyard
Jammer's Graveyard (JG): In the words of Anuj Dorji (Founder/present Vocalist of JG), "In the summer of 2010, I met Kangkan Deuri (ex-drummer of JG). We two are big time fans of American heavy metal band – Lamb of God, and decided to cover their songs and started jamming. Soon, we roped in a Lead Guitarist and a Bassist but had to part ways with them in a few months. The band that just got rolling lost it track and went completely inactive for a year."
"In 2012, I somehow happened to introduce Pawan Damai (present Guitarist of JG and Rain in Sahara) to Kangkan in a pub. The three of us got along quite well and decide to give life to JG once again. We were in a pursuit of a bassist and Rohit Medhi was the result of our search. We were able to give a formal start to Jammers Graveyard. We performed at lot many gigs and concerts around Northeast India, but in 2015 Rohit had to quit the band for his need to pursue higher education. Soon after parting ways with Rohit, we met Dipankar Bora and with his positive inputs as a bassist JG was on the roll. But unfortunately, we had to part ways with him in 2018. Meanwhile, Kangkan also had to quit JG for other personal endeavours, although his exit paved the entry for Joy Das (present drummer of JG and two other bands- Tyrrhenian and Eclipse) who since has been able to maintain the chemistry developed between us. Recently, we welcomed Bikash Subba (ex-bassist of Violent Edge, Insane Prophecy) as the new bassist of JG. I believe, now there will be no looking back.
But, how to forget, that I have seen it all, members coming and going. Really, life is about your resilience and your ability to go through all the ups and downs with a positive attitude. Trust me; the band would have not survived until now if we lacked a positive attitude and confidence and the zeal to take our music forward."
TNT: What is your take on the music scene in Northeast India, particularly the metal scene?
JG: At present, we see quite less metal gigs/concerts happening. And, even if gigs are being organised, most of them ask for free participation. We invest a lot in our jamming at studios, in buying expensive gears/instrument hardwares, but we only get back 5-6 per cent of our investments from a gig. Besides, there are very less venues dedicated to the scene and ready to host a metal music concert. It's getting quite critical to strive and sustain.
For the music scene to exist, people need to attend 'paid' live shows and not free shows. A business module also needs to exist here. But that's something the Indian metal music scene has fallen short of. I would speak the same on behalf of bands/band members of other towns/cities of the country because the formal infrastructure is yet to catch up.
Nonetheless, we believe there should be a price for each and every art. When the audience pays to see us perform, it certainly means that our music has been accepted by them. We think the metal scene can be a huge business in this area, if it's well managed.
TNT: How do you guys go about creating an entirely new piece of work? Tell us about the process.
JG: We pick up any existing issue or cause, mostly environmental and social, and try to visualise how it would sound if developed. It starts with some rough demos in our home studio. Gradually, we improvise and select the best of the demos for taking it to the next level, outlining the traces of the final track. Then it's time to hit the studios for mixing and mastering, making it musically overwhelming to our audience, listeners and fans alike.
TNT: Tell us about your inspiration– Which band inspires you and what were the first bands you may have listened to?
JG: Our inspiration depends on experimenting. We like to experiment and introduce new elements in each of our track. We practice the techniques of slam death metal and we like low tuned guitars, so we pick death core and further develop our music infusing the elements of technical deathcore.
Bands like Cannibal Corpse, Carnifex, Suicide Silence, Aborted, and Dying Fetus inspire us. Initially, we were quite heavily influenced by the legends – Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Gojira, and the likes.
TNT: The beauty of metal music is to be able to vent out frustrations, does the band follow any ideology? If yes, does it influence the band lyrically?
JG: Most of our themes are based on socio-environmental issues that go around in our everyday life. Our lyrics are heavily influenced by themes just like our tracks, viz. Earth's Day, Inglorious Slayer, etc.
Basically, on our part as JG, we wish to inspire people through our socially meaningful lyrics bolstered by our music's ability to influence emotion.
TNT: Why the name 'Jammer's Graveyard'?
JG: Well, not much of an elaborative concept behind that.
We believe, "Musicians die, but their spirit remains." Every day in some remote corner of the earth, a musician dies along with the music in his/her heart, buried in the graveyard. We are the chosen ones to celebrate their music in the graveyard and to jam on their behalf.
TNT: Being musicians, time for oneself is always tied up but when free time to just chill is on the table, how would the members spend it?
JG: We spend our leisure time listening to new sounds/compositions, exploring new music/musical genres, exchanging knowledge and ideas related to music with each other as well as other band members.
TNT: Metal is passion but what are your hobbies outside music? What do you like listening to besides metal?
JG: Besides music, playing football and swimming are two of our favorite past time that we naturally have an affinity with. We also love travelling to places/destinations, Shillong being our ideal hot spot.
You can listen to them on Soundcloud below:
You can follow their Facebook Page here: Jammers Graveyard
Awards & Recognitions:
Winners: Crescendo Blitzkrieg 2014, Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, Assam, along with being conferred the titles of Best Vocalist, Guitarist, Bassist and Drummer
Best vocalist and Drummer: Rock Rules 2015 – Asian Institute of Management & Technology, Guwahati, Assam
Winners: Ransack Auxesis 5.0 – 2015, Dibrugarh University, Assam
Runners up: TECHXETRA Metanoia 2016 – Tezpur University, Assam
Winners: EUPHUISM – Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management and Technology 2016, Tezpur, Assam
Runners up: Saarang 2016 – IIT Madras, along with being conferred the title of Best Guitarist
Runners up: Concensio 2016, Royal Group of Institutions, Assam
Wacken Metal Battle 2016: Among the Shortlisted Final Bands (National Leg)
Winners: National Rock Competition – Rongali 2018, Guwahati, along with being conferred the titles of Best Vocalist and Drummer
Winners: Pyrotechnix 2018, Assam Engineering College, Guwahati, along with being conferred the title of Best Drummer
Winners: Concensio 2018, Royal Group of Institutions, Assam
Runners Up: ShiRock, Manipur 2018, along with being conferred the title of Best Drummer
Interviewed by Shweta Raj Kanwar for TNT- The Northeast Today. The writer can be reached at shwetarajkanwar@gmail.com and shweta@thenortheasttoday.com
