What was the beginning point for your music career? How did it all start?
Vijay: The band’s roots began in early 2011 when I met the former bass player through a musician who we were rehearsing with at the time. It went through quite a few line-up changes until March of 2012 when Pete auditioned for the singer’s part and joined the band. A year later, Warren joined us after we’d auditioned several drummers. We’ve had a few good keyboard players who played for us during that time but it wasn’t until 2015 that we found Keith. Saurav took over the bass duties by the middle of 2018 after our bass player quit the band.
Was there any bumps on the road? What kind of challenges did you have to deal with?
Vijay: This in itself can be an autobiography in the future (laughs). There were plenty of challenges for sure. It’s a gargantuan task to build a successful band that plays in English in India. The market is skewed heavily in favor of mainstream movie music (Bollywood). But that being said, I was set in what kind of music I wanted to write, record and perform. It took us a very long time to get a nucleus together. We had tried many musicians but most of them flattered to deceive. Every possible challenge you can think of was there to deal with – No shows, flaky and clueless artists, etc you name it. Add to that, Mumbai is a cut throat and an expensive city to live in. With a steep goal like this, one must be steely resolved to make sure the job gets done irrespective of the circumstances otherwise it’s curtains. Just to give you some perspective, before Warren came on-board we must have tried out close to 15 drummers or so. It could be more…..but we kept at it and didn’t flinch one bit.
What was the most fulfilling and satisfying moment so far?
Pete: To have crossed 2 million streams on Spotify at the start of this year was very special for us. We are thrilled and humbled by the response our music has received from audiences across the world. I believe it is quite an achievement for an indie band doing English rock music from India like us, to hit these kinds of streaming numbers. Of course, playing live is definitely a whole lot of fun but the past 2 years of not performing live has been hard on musicians across the world. We are still taking baby steps to playing live but it’s great validation and terrific motivation for us to keep making our music and sharing it with our fans across the world.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Vijay: We create Rock music and add a dash of Indian classical music elements to it.
What is your creative process like?
Vijay: I use a variety of different approaches. I use the idea as a ‘seed’ and then work off of it. The ideas could come to me from any situation or experience. Some examples could be a guitar riff, a vocal melody idea, a percussive groove I’ve heard on a song and at times it could come to me when I’m in a totally non-related musical situation. Basically, I just keep my senses open to anything I perceive as an idea. I then write the lyrics to these ideas based on what I feel about the different situations or circumstances and the observations I’ve made about life in general. At any given point of time, there’s at least a few ideas at the back of my head. I don’t necessarily sit down to finish it immediately until I feel I have something to help complement the idea.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Saurav: Easier said than done but – Get musicians to be better paid.
If you were asked to give a piece of advice to upcoming bands, what would that be?
Saurav: Stick to your sound but there’s no harm in evolving too.
What has been the best performance of your career so far?
Pete: They say you never forget your first (laughs) and well my first was quite memorable for several reasons. It was with my college band back in 1998 where we were one of two college bands, chosen to open a day long music concert which featured the top musical acts of the country at the time. It was nerve wracking but also awesome! To play your first ever gig in front of a 3000-strong crowd was the highlight of my vocal journey. Before we went on and after we were done, we got to hang in the green room and met some fantastic musicians which was very cool.
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
Saurav: Probably attempting to write feature films.
What is new with the band at the moment? What are you currently working on and would like to share with the world?
Pete: Despite not playing live for obvious reasons, it’s been a pretty busy year for us. We released our first ever instrumental ‘S.E.V.A’ late last year and just last month released another single called ‘Set Me Free’ which is about the exploitative practice of child labour. Keep your ears peeled for our next release which should be our first release in the new year. After a long break we’ve started our regular jam sessions as well so we hope to play live soon at various venues in our home city and the rest of the country. Also, we would like to say a big Thank You to all our fans. Keep following and supporting us.
InRegalia band bio
Based in the city of Mumbai in the western part of India, InRegalia is a band which plays Classic and Alternative Rock with elements of Indian classical music.
The band was founded by guitarist Vijay Fernandes. They were later joined by vocalist Peter Abraham, drummer Warren Swaries, Keith Pereira on keys and Saurav Das on bass. The band has been active on the Indian indie circuit playing at a number of venues in their home city and across the country.
InRegalia has released four singles and two EP’s thus far. The band has received positive reviews and coverage in the press and blogs and their music has been aired on over 200 indie radio stations and podcasts worldwide.
The band is currently working on a string of singles culminating with an EP, which is slated to be released early next year.
Their music is available on all the major digital retail outlets and streaming platforms.
InRegalia band line-up
Peter Abraham – Vocals
Vijay Fernandes – Guitars
Keith Pereira – Keyboard
Saurav Das – Bass
Warren Swaries – Drums
