IMR: As this is our first interview with the band, could you give a brief introduction about the formation of LUCID RECESS and what does the band name entail in relation with your music?
Amitabh: I and Siddharth formed the band in 2004 but were almost inactive till we released our EP in 07. Partha Boro joined as our drummer in 2009.
Siddharth: I came across this term called LUCID INTERVAL in John Grisham's, THE TESTAMENT which is a medical term meaning - a temporary improvement in a patient’s condition after a traumatic injury. With our name LUCID RECESS we try to imply that our listeners will feel good when they listen to our music and then get back to their normal state.
IMR: Could you tell us, in your opinion, what has been the bands high point and low point and what is it that keeps you guys so incited all these years?
LR: Our high point was when we were selected for GIR XII. It had been a dream of ours to be a part of that fest and the compilation and when we finally made it, it felt amazing. And our low point probably will be missing the opportunity to play in Launchpad 3, for which we were selected but could not go due to some problem.
Our love for music and always wanting to create something new kept us going all these years.
IMR: Where does the band draw inspiration from, be it musical or otherwise?
LR: Everything actually, we get inspired pretty easily and always try to keep our eyes open in that respect. A good movie, a good conversation, a good gig or even just travelling or walking around, it’s surprising to know how the smallest of things can sometimes inspire you to do something big. Buying new instruments are always a big YES on inspiration.
IMR: Your lyrics have always seemed to be attention seeking the most, how important are the lyric's in LUCID RECESS and from where do you get these inspirations? Also, who is the spark amongst you who brings up the lyrical content?
Amitabh: Lyrics are like super important to us and we almost feel like we’re wasting a song unless we can write some good lyrics to back it up with. For the album CARVED both Siddharth and I wrote the lyrics but for ENGRAVED INVITATION, I did almost all of the writings. Inspiration wise, again, it’s never certain. We just keep writing.
IMR: The new album ENGRAVED INVITATION is clearly the most refined and powerful bands release till today. How did you approach the creation of this one differently in comparison to your previous release CARVED(E.P), as a result what can the fans expect to hear on the band’s latest material?
LR: First of all Thanks. We were sure from the very beginning that we’re going to put in a lot of time in production this time. Our earlier effort was pretty raw and we wanted to create a really polished record this time. Regarding the songs, we initially planned on putting a lot of earlier songs that we had wrote over the years. But then as we started recording, we kept writing new songs and found them to be more true to the kind of feel and the kind of music that we wanted for the new album. Our earlier album had songs that we wrote over a long period of time, but on this new album, almost all the songs are written in the past 1 and a half year. That had a very important effect on how the album sounds as a whole.
As for our fans, they can expect a lot of new and experimental stuffs this time, covering lot of different moods and styles. They can find the stuffs they like about Lucid Recess but also much more. We’ve also put out a pretty decent packaging to put a smile on their faces when they buy the album. I’m not gonna talk much about how the songs are coz it’s up to them to decide. But we all hope that our fans will like our new album.
IMR: And talking about having a concept, what is the concept behind ENGRAVED INVITATION? Is there any conscious or unconscious message that you guys want to transmit to your fans?
Siddharth: There isn’t really a concept behind the album, but I’d like to talk about the name. I came across this term ENGRAVED INVITATION in an interview of Ayn Rand, the author of FOUNTAINHEAD. It means a specific plea or request. We choose it because as many people know us and about our music, there are many more who have never heard about us or has any idea about our music. With this album name, we are trying to tell (or request) people, both who have heard us and those who haven’t, to give our new music a try.
IMR: Well, coming onto the album distribution you guys seem to be quite serious this time but I don't think it is made available whole across India, if yes then are you guys planning to make it available in the rest of the native territories? Also, did you throw any album launch party or planning too in the coming weeks?
LR: We are trying to make it available in as many places as we can this time. If someone wants to buy our album, they should be able to get it easily. So far, it is available in various online stores - CD Rack (www.cdrack.in) ( Noida), The Flaming Skull Distribution (
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) (Mumbai) and Road Crew Records (
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) (Chennai) from where people can buy it and have it delivered right to their doorsteps. We are taking with Furtados Music Stores about stocking it in their stores across the country and it should be available their shortly. In Assam, it is available at around 10 stores in Guwahati and other places as well.
We didn’t throw any party as such…we will be organizing a gig around the end of May.
IMR: The overall album packaging has to be appreciated, the only thing that disappointed me was the cover-art of the album, and what do you think?
LR: Thanks. Really glad you liked the packaging. Regarding the cover-art, all we can say is that - different strokes for different folks. We really liked the picture and so we decided to make it our album cover. We decided that image for the cover even before we released our EP. We approached our good friend John Patowary, to show us some of his photos for the cover of our EP. He showed us a lot of photos and there were these two photos - the cover of CARVED and the cover of Engraved Invitation. We decided then and right there that the Black and White photo will be the cover of our EP and the ‘Eye’ photo will be the cover of the next album. And we are happy it turned out the way we wanted.
IMR: Can you recount any one particularly funny, weird, or cool occurrence that happened with the band during the album recording?
Amitabh: Our studio is in the top floor of our grandparent’s house. My grandfather is a cleanliness freak and as such, he sometimes pours a lot of bleaching powder in the veranda leading to our studio. I was doing the vocals for the song LOST, I guess, and I had accidentally picked up some bleaching powder on my clothes and on the water bottle I was carrying while going to the studio. So what happened was, I was completely intoxicated with the smell and I guess I even gulped down some with the water. I don’t know how bad it is, but I didn’t feel good at all. I guess I felt kind of lost while doing the vocals on LOST.
IMR: Does the band keep themselves updated to all the developments that has been happening in the underground scene, musical genres, internet, technologies and the musical outlook of the industry?
LR: We try to some extent. There are so many new and revolutionary things coming up every day that it’s pretty hard to keep up with all of them. We are starting to realize now how important it is for an independent artist to promote themselves. We are now a lot more active in social networking sites than we used to. We also try to keep updated with the latest technologies in our field, be it recording gears, live gears etc to keep up with the rest of the industry...we don’t want to be left too far behind. Regarding musical genre, we listen to whatever good music we can find…we are always trying to discover new bands and artists.
IMR: Can you commemorate your first big break that helped you to realize that you were on the right path, choosing Alternative/Rock genre as your method of music?
Siddharth: I think it’s when we released our song – PAINSTAKING OBSESSION. It was in June 2007 and we got really good response from everywhere. So we were really happy that people are appreciating the kind music we are making.
IMR: You’ve actually been writing, recording, and releasing music for some time now. Since you were pretty young when you wrote your first songs, how do you feel about them looking back?
LR: Back then, we use to write and record a lot…not the recording we do these days but record just the ideas, riffs, chorus etc. At first, it was on cassettes and then on computers, when we learned how to do it. When we go through them, we find so many flaws and it all seems so funny sometimes, but there are also some pretty cool stuffs….and we have used some of those stuffs in our songs and probably will do again the future. Looking back, it was all very important for us – at that time, we didn’t think we would make and record music for a living. But what we did gave us a lot of confidence and opportunity to pursue what we love doing more than anything. We are really grateful for that.
IMR: You guys are from Guwahati, Assam. Is there a decent music scene especially for the Rock genre there or do you find yourself traveling for shows to spread a word about your music?
LR: The scene here is pretty decent. We have a good crowd and we have a lot of good bands. The best part is that most bands play their own songs nowadays and the crowd also enjoys it. Still the thing lacking is the number of shows each month. We have some dedicated organizers here who do their best to make shows happen as much as they can. And we also have all the college shows. But it’d be really nice to see weekly gigs happening and more pub shows, bringing in new bands from the city and outside.
We do find ourselves looking for shows outside all the time, and it’s also really nice playing in different cities and to different crowds.
IMR: That's all from me, thanks a lot for the chance for interviewing you and thanks a lot for the inspirational and beautiful music throughout the years! Do let us know about filming a video, any impending tour plans, any available merchandise and what we can expect from LUCID RECESS in the future. Any last words of wisdom for all the peasants in town?
LR: The pleasure is all ours!! We are certainly considering making a few videos, and we’re pretty sure we’ll start very soon. We have plans for merchandise and have a lot of ideas regarding that. We’re not very sure about tours….hopefully soon. If you like our songs, do buy our new album!
Official Website: http://www.lucidrecess.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lucidrecess FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/lucidrecess
