Keith Peter: How has your musical journey been like so far? Could you tell us a bit about the origin and course of your act? 

The Jass B’stards: The band came together in the summer of 2009, initially as part of a cabaret I was producing called “Stiff kittens' Medicine Show.” We developed a skit based on a horribly pretentious and quite unlistenable jazz band who played “experimental free-form" music, sometimes accompanying “beatnik poet” Momo Ghose from Tadpole Repertory. The band was given a weekly residence at the TLR Cafe shortly after, where we would invite belly dancers, classical singers, and anyone else who wanted to join in. Everything we played was on the fly and much of our set came together during these performances. I think it was another year before we did our first rehearsal! The band never had a clear agenda since all the members treated our other concern “The Ska Vengers” as a commercially viable project. This afforded us the freedom to do (on not do) whatever we pleased.  

Keith Peter: Can you deconstruct your music making process for us? 

The Jass B’stards: Everyone has a hand in the writing process, often ideas will come together when we are just jamming. Sometimes Nikhil will introduce some twisted drum beat and ask us to put some music to it. What is more usual is that Tony will introduce a bass pattern that he has worked on at home, and I will add some chorus parts and structure the piece. Occasionally, I sit at the piano and figure out a structured piece. This is often liable to change though, once the band gets a hold of it. 

Keith Peter: What are your thoughts on the growing independent music circuit? 

The Jass B’stards: It has certainly changed a lot in the last ten years. If we are talking about live music, even though it is a huge challenge to gain a foothold in the industry —when it is more feasible financially to tour or book DJ producers. The airwaves are still dominated by Bollywood and commercial pop since it is the safest bet to sell advertising space to risk-averse advertising executives. Some of the platforms which helped in exposing independent music have not managed to survive. MTV Indies was good for a while, and OML have shifted more toward the promotion of comedic talent. Currently there aren’t so many live music venues willing to offer a stage to newer and more experimental bands, but we have seen in the last three years the steady growth of more DIY-style gigs, supported by people such as Rana Ghose at Reproduce, Control Alt Delete (with their pay-what-you-like model), and a proliferation of organised house concerts from the likes of Sofar Sounds, Manu Mathews’ House Concerts, and my own Lock Inn. Certainly there is more musical diversity than ever before and we have seen a resurgence in jazz music in the main metros as there are more music academies specialising in jazz tuition, and venues such as The Piano Man in Delhi and Gurgaon are actively promoting jazz and jazz-related forms of music. 

Keith Peter: Could you suggest a playlist or a couple of artists to listen to? 

The Jass B’stards: We always think that the music we listen to is the best, but it is entirely subjective of course... Personally, as a kid I was into Queen and Electric Light orchestra until punk came along and then it was The Stranglers, Clash, Buzzcocks et al. I discovered Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus in my late teens, and for several years I would listen to little else part from jazz, Latin, and Indian classical. Then, from my mid-20s onward I rediscovered rock around the time of the so-called Brit pop movement and formed a band in London which was a composite of everything I had listened to. Some of the tunes I play now were written around that time. Music that I keep returning to over the years would be classical music of Schubert and Chopin, The Beatles, The Clash, retro lounge krautrock experimental band Stereolab, but most recently Welsh psychedelic pop band “Super Furry Animals.” I don’t know how I missed them the first time around!