Rocking to a New Groove | The Telegraph, Music Zone, Tuesday, 28 June 2005

Post-interview write up by Music Man Mihir Joshi | 107.1 FM Rainbow - Mumbai, 02 August, 2005

Blowing in the Wind | The Telegraph, Music Zone, Saturday, 27 November 2004

Carnival Cruise Rocks to an End | The Telegraph, North Bengal & Sikkim, Wednesday, 10 November 2004

Soul Food Fest | The Telegraph, Good Life, Wednesday, 23 June 2004

Reaching Out | The Telegraph, Good Life, Monday, 10 Feb 2003

Songs Sung True | The Telegraph, Tuesday, 03 December 2002

Dealing with Dylan | Times of India, Monday, 02 December 2002

New Kids On The Block! | The Statesman, Campus and Careers, Tuesday 30 July, 2002

Quite A Cassini, This | The Times of India, Calcutta Times, Thursday 25 July 2002

Space Rock | The Telegraph, Good Life, Wednesday, 24 July 2002

Cassini's Division Impresses With New Punk Rock Sound | Hindustan Times, HT City, Tuesday, 23 July 2002

 

Rocking to a New Groove The Telegraph, Music Zone | Tuesday, 28 June 2005   Goodlife tunes in to the alternative modern rock band Cassini’s Division at the Mecca of live music in the city. When most were rocking to retro, this gang made a subversive attack on Calcutta’s musical sensibilities, forcing a rethink on rock ’n’ roll. Cassini’s Division, what fans refer to as a modern, alternative rock outfit, had the gall to force music lovers to sit up straight on their bar stools and then hit the floor, head-banging in tandem with a whole new sound. Rocking Someplace Else, the Mecca of live music in Calcutta, for over a month now, Cassini’s Division has injected the music scene in the city with a freshness that was due for quite some time. The first outfit in the city to be playing alternative rock, the band already boasts a loyal fan following as can be witnessed at the witching hour on Saturdays at Someplace Else, when the party crowd troops into the pub to rock for real. The erstwhile sleepy Sunday evenings at the pub in The Park have also been woken up with a jolt when the band kicks in post 9 pm. “People are really enjoying the Cassini’s Division sound at Someplace Else. They play a completely different genre of music from what other bands play at the pub, bringing in a breath of fresh air to our repertoire. Must say, our experiment to give Calcutta something extra on weekends is paying off handsomely,” says Anirban Simlai, director food and beverages, The Park. The band regales with a wide variety of covers from modern rock bands like Creed, The Cure, The Calling, REM, Green Day, Lifehouse and more, but the USP lies in the huge list of original songs. Many of which like Caesar, Urban phenomenon, Only for a while, Shadowchase, Mr Mishra and Simba are regular requests. “A lot of our own songs deal with the struggle to better oneself and overcome the hurdles we face as individuals as well as a society,” says Rahul Guha Roy, singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band.   Loneliness my friend/ Emptiness my second skin/ When will this be over/ When will I get over this...   The kind of stuff almost every second person in the audience can identify with. This shares sound space with adrenaline rushers like the one on lust for power and authority — Caesar had the power in his hand/ Caesar had the military men and the tanks/ But Brutus and the boys were busy conspiring/ Talking to the contract killer they’ll be hiring…   “Over the past four years, we have been able to mould a distinct, original style that combines elements of rock, industrial music and vocal extremes like deep throat growls with exquisite melodies that contrast both the beauty and the ugliness of the urban emotional landscape,” adds Rahul. The variety is palpable, given the wide-ranging musical influences of each member of the band. While Rahul traces his song-writing roots to grunge and hip-hop, influenced by groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and REM, Sukanti Roy, the other guitarist of the band, grew up listening to metal, John Bose, the bassist, moved from classic rock to groups like Radiohead, Staind, 3 Doors Down and Linkin Park, and Ludo (Ritoban Das), the drummer, is heavily into Afro-Latin percussion. “Even though we come from different musical backgrounds, which of course overlap, we share a good chemistry that comes across as a unique Cassini’s Division sound,” says Ludo. Among its memorable performances so far, the band recounts the concerts in Darjeeling and Kalimpong at the Darjeeling Carnival in November 2004, where the band rocked a 3,000-strong crowd, live. “It was an amazing experience. Post the concerts, we realised there was no looking back. We chucked our day jobs and launched full time into music,” reminisces John. At the moment, the band is shopping for a record deal but in the interim it continues to rock with new tricks up its sleeve. The element of rap — the stuff that only the likes of Eminem, Jay Z and Arrested Development did on TV so far — in Cassini’s Division’s repertoire is a hit with Urban phenomenon being the most requested number. Cassini’s Division is going to rock Chennai next, where it plays in the JRO 2005 festival in July, south India’s biggest rock fest. With a view to inject the same flavour in Calcutta, Cassini’s Division is also instrumental in trying to gang up with other young bands in the city to organise concerts on a regular basis. “This is important for a vibrant rock scene to develop and survive in a place like Calcutta. Talks are on with two other bands to work on a concert, probably on Independence Day,” shares Sukanti. The futuristic attitude is evident in the band’s sci-fi artwork rendered by Sukanti that features on posters and the CD cover of the band’s demo recording, Living in the loop. The spirit has been manifest right from the baptism of Cassini’s Division, which is named after the large gap in Saturn’s rings as viewed from Earth and ideologically translates into the mystery, enigma and illusion of it all.

Music Man Mihir - planning to get back with the grooving. Excerpts from post-interview write up by Music Man Mihir Joshi 107.1 FM Rainbow - Mumbai | Tuesday, 02 August 2005   Cassini's Division...Four guys from Calcutta who're mightily impressive. Interviewed these boys from Calcutta...or is that Kolkatta? Well irrespective of the name of the city, one thing that can be said about these guys is that they are very passionate about their music and they seem to have a really good time playing it. They have a very nice sound and the EP they sent me sounds wonderful. I played two songs from their EP...and it was nice to see that a lot of you liked their music a lot. I played "Only For A While" and "Turn Back The Clock" from their EP. What comes across when you listen to these guys is that they put in a lot of thought behind their music. It's not just insane ramblings nor is it a bad attempt to imitate someone. They know who they are and what they want to sound like...and it comes across through their music. It would be nice to see them in Mumbai sometime soon. (Read more writeups on other great Indian bands at Mihirs site)

Blowing in the Wind The Telegraph, Music Zone | Saturday, 27 November 2004 Rahul Guha Roy   Our band Cassini’s Division has been invited to take part in Darjeeling Carnival, the biggest annual jamboree in the hills of north Bengal. The other members, John Bose (bass), Sukanti Roy, (guitar) and Ritoban Das (drums) are raring to go out there and take our modern rock sound to a new audience. It is a sunny afternoon at Sealdah station and we are ready to rock…   8.11.04 After what seems an inordinately long train journey, we arrive at New Jalpaiguri Station groggy-eyed but full of enthusiasm. It’s 4 am, time to kill sleep and an hour with some strong cups of coffee. Our guitarist Sukanti’s fluent Nepali helps us land a comfortable Tata Scorpio ride to Kalimpong at discounted rates. We take in breathtaking views of the Teesta by the light of dawn along the way before morning mist cuts short our tryst with eye candy.   Kalimpong, 7am We decide that after the gig is through we’ll do a spot of publicity for coffee and the second part of a proverb “…early to rise”. But that can wait, first we have to find our pointsman Akash. The effects of the coffee are beginning to wear off and we need some serious shuteye. We troop into the hotel and creep into our beds. We forget to set our alarm clocks for lunch wake-up but our empty stomachs prove reliable. Akash decides to make us feel “truly at home” and rushes us to Mashima’s Hotel for some machher jhol-bhat. We’d have preferred momo and thukpa, but… The rest of the day is given up to checking out the venue and threatening the sound guys with dire consequences if they fail to make us sound like Deep Purple! In the evening, we watch Funeral Fire from Darjeeling deliver a thundering set of heavy metal before leaving to party with the band members of Reincarnation who are also staying at our hotel. Midnight, everyone is a little wasted and before long we are deep in the land of Nod.   9.11.04 D-Day. Not quite Normandy, but the band battle must be won. The organisers rush us to a nearby restaurant for a breakfast of toast, coffee and micro omelettes (the smallest we’ve seen in our lives). All the guys in the event committee are singing Don’t let me down. We promise them we won’t because we’re not in the brick or tomato collecting business. A quick tour of all the “reputed convent schools” follows. Some of the principals don’t dig rock & roll too much, but they all like Bono. “We’re just like his band U2, social conscience and all that,” I tell them, with as straight a face as I can pull. They love it, and promise to send the kids for the show in the evening. We’re back for lunch and I put my foot down, it’s gonna be Tibetan or no food. The organisers don’t understand. We tell them we have enough of Mashima’s cuisine at home and we don’t like to feel at home on tour! It’s 4.30 pm and time to get our sound check done. An hour later, we’re sure those who come to hear us will not really need to pay a visit to the ENT guy the next day. The risk of brain damage has also been considerably reduced, re-mixed whatever. It’s 6 ’ clock, the MC calls us on stage, a senior bureaucrat welcomes us with traditional Nepali khadas (scarves) and it’s time to kick off. The first song ends, the applause is deafening, the atmosphere is electric. It’s new for us because the audiences back home tend to be much more passive. By the time we come to our show closer, a cover of Dylan’s Blowing in the wind, I can hear the whole audience singing along with gusto as fireworks blaze into the night sky. After the crescendo, there is a minute’s silence before the audience erupts in cheers, claps and whistles. I try to get off the stage but have to wait patiently as there are a number of kids asking for autographs. We’ve just proved yet again that Rock & Roll ain’t noise pollution!   10.11.04 We take in some of the town’s attractions, sleep in the afternoon and party the night away.   11.11.04 Early morning drive to Darjeeling through some beautiful landscape. Catch the sunlight shimmering on the Kanchenjunga an hour before we reach Darjeeling. Check into the hotel, grab a quick bite and head for sound check. To our dismay we discover the venue is built of tin, just not right for good acoustics. The sound people, who’ve come from Calcutta, try to be helpful (“anything here sounds noisy”, says one). The venue soon fills up and it’s time to take the stage. We play two Cassini’s Division songs through a haze of tinny echoes. We think we’re sounding awful. The audience cheers. I tell them they are beautiful people with an amazing ear for music! As we run through our songs, the temperature keeps dropping, the tempo keeps rising. Soon it’s time to close the show and once again Blowing in the wind does the trick, this time with guest vocalist Prerna from Kalimpong joining us for a “long jam” that ends with the audience cheering wildly. Our ears are about to pack up, but we’re happy to have rocked the carnival with some unintentional psychedelia!   Final entry  | 12.11.04 and 13.11.04. We do the usual touristy things, hang out with musician friends and play two hotel gigs for a “posh” audience of up-market tourists, from Calcutta to South Korea! Finally, it’s time to go home. Fans wish us well in Darjeeling and we descend through banks of clouds, making our way to Siliguri, from where we’ll catch the train to Calcutta.

Excerpts From Carnival Cruise Rocks To An End The Telegraph, North Bengal & Sikkim | Wednesday, 10 November 2004 Reza Pradhan and Vivek Singh in Kurseong   Culture and rock, brought the curtains down on the three-day Kalimpong Carnival today. The event, part of the larger Darjeeling Carnival, ended on a high note with cultural troupes from Nagaland and Assam and Calcutta band Cassini’s Division and Satya, a local band, giving the audience enough reason to stay glued to their seats at Mela Ground till the end of the show. Taking it up from where Darjeeling-based Trinetra Sangitalay Cultural Troupe left it yesterday, after showcasing the culture of the different Nepali communities, the Eastern Zonal Cultural Committee of Nagaland and Assam showcased their culture through a dance performance that left the spectators spellbound. On the music front, Cassini’s Division broke away from the trend set by Funeral Fire, a Darjeeling band that made the crowd go wild with covers of heavy metal groups like Pantera and Iron Maiden. The band from Calcutta toned down the tempo with covers of No Woman No Cry, I shall be Released and Imitation of Life by Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and Aryan, and offering cerebral original compositions like Drown, Higher, and Mr Mishra. The last day definitely was one for showcasing talent that went beyond singing good covers. Local band Satya also belted out Nepali songs like Umreendai Teen Patey and Gey Gey Rani, both original compositions. John Bose, the bassist and the back vocalist of Cassini’s Division, said: “This is a beautiful town and the people are very friendly. Looking at the tourism potential that this place holds, the idea of organising a carnival was a great initiative. Moreover, this decision also allows youths of the region a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talent.” Samsher Ali, one of the coordinators of the Kalimpong Winter Fest Committee that is managing the event for the Darjeeling Carnival here, said: “We got great feedback from the people here and feel this will also act as a warm-up session for the winter fest, which is slated for December.”

Soul Food Fest The Telegraph, Good Life | Wednesday, 23 June 2004     <excerpt> A celebration of music around the globe for World Music Day was all too audible in Calcutta on Monday as the city swayed to the beat of an annual event spearheaded in France way back in 1982. The Calcutta chapter of the celebrations was a collaborative effort of Alliance Francaise de Calcutta, The Park, and the Calcutta School of Music. A gamut of bands and singers offered a large choice of music, from fusion to classical, through Monday. <excerpt> <excerpt> Monday afternoon might not be when the city usually starts tuning into live shows, but it had no trouble warming up to alternative rock outfit Cassini's Division. <excerpt> <excerpt> The original rock band belted out an impressive array of covers. The group, influenced by Pealr Jam, Incubus, Lifehouse, REM and The Cure, displayed an impressive song list, spanning decades. Kick-starting the performance with REM's Imitation of Life, the band moved on to Dylan's Blowing In The Wind, Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry, and Ticket To Ride and Imagine by the Beatles. The list was interspersed with original compositions, touching a wide range of issues. While Only For A While is about learning to savour the little pleasures of life, Drown speaks of a boy who overcomes low self-esteem and depression. The crowd favourite, however, turned out to be Caesar, a rap-rock anthem based on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The song explores the relation between lust for power and self-destruction. Mr. Mishra in contrast was a mellow sing-along tune that got the crowd joining in for the chorus. <excerpt>

Reaching Out The Telegraph, Good Life | Monday, 10 Feb 2003 Sreeradha Dasgupta   <excerpt> Nazrul Manch came alive to the sound of rock music this week with three of Calcutta's best new rock groups enthralling the audience with their power-packed performance. The concert - a charity performance for the benefit of disabled children witnessed a medium-sized audience ready to rock with a vengeance. Cassini's Division opened the show with their familiar set of original modern rock. Belting out their set with verve and style, the band received great support from the audience with the song Caesar being the highlight of the performance. <excerpt>

Songs Sung True The Telegraph | Tuesday, 03 December 2002 Janine Wynne Peters and Kalpita Basu   Die-hard Bob Dylan fans and music lovers assembled together on a relaxed wintry evening at the Srijan rooftop recently to get a feel of the legendary singer-cum-songwriter's philosophy and politics. Srijan also paid tribute to Dylan with a lecture by Professor Ananda Lal. The session kicked off with It Ain't Me Babe, where Lal explained the nuances of this famous song. "Most people mistake it for a love song, when Dylan is actually referring to the politics of the times," he said. Similarly, Lal made mention of Forever Young that Dylan wrote keeping his son in mind. The lecture was punctuated by taped versions of Dylan's songs and a solo rendition of It Ain't Me Babe by Rahul Guha Roy, lead singer of Cassini's Division. The lecture that lasted for an hour also highlighted Sylan's stance of not adhering to melodious tunes that was the order of the day. Mention was also made of Love and Theft, the album which can be called Dylan's comeback. The audience was treated to songs such as Like A Rolling Stone, The Times They Are A Changin', Tangled Up In Blue and Senor (Tales of Yankee Power). The lecture was followed by a live performance by Cassini's Division, comprising bass guitarist John Bose, drummer Arka Das, percussionist Ritoban Das and rhythm guitarist Sukanti Roy. The band played such numbers as Mr. Tambourine Man, One More Cup Of Coffee and I Shall Be Released. Other than Dylan songs, Cassini's Division also performed some of their original numbers including such favorites as Shadowchase, Animals, Caesar and Only For A While.

Dealing with Dylan The Times of India | Monday, 02 December 2002 Pratim Das Gupta   In its tribute to the rock legend of the sixties, titled Music from Distant Shores, SRIJAN organized a presentation of Bob Dylan on Friday evening at the Rooftop. ANANDA LAL traced the life of the celebrated singer right from his first album in 1962 and addressed Dylan as "the singlemost influential figure in contemporary songwriting". Lal went on to brief the comparatively young audience about the chronological flow of Dylan's musical career. He described how from political irony to his personal intensity, Dylan's bitter and disillusioned singing transformed into a more melodious blue-grass form. Throughout snippets of Dylan's most famous numbers were played from CDs and cassettes. But the evening really got into the groove with Rahul singing "It Ain't Me Babe" live. After the Ananda Lal's presentation, Rahul and his gang of CASSINI'S DIVISION belted out the powerful "finger-pointing songs" like "Blowin' In The Wind". Dylan's take on love - "Mr. Tambourine Man" was also a big hit with the audience. Overall, the strength and passion of Dylan's music bore testimony to the fact that they sounded much better live than on tape.

New Kids on the Block The Statesman, Campus and Careers | Tuesday July 30, 2002 Sreemoy Talukdar   What do you get when you add a little bit of Radiohead and Fatboy Slim with a chink of Creed and a dash of Arrested Development? Cassini's Division, of course! If you're thinking what on earth does the name mean, then read on. It's the space between the first two rings of Saturn. The place where rhythm rules. As does resonance. The name is linked with the band's idea of music. Born in June last year, the group has Rahul Guha Roy, John Bose, brothers Arka and Ritoban Das and Sukanti Roy as the key members. On their second public performance at the Music World, they got the audience swaying to the tunes of Simba. And though it was hardly an ideal platform (the acoustics were horrible!), the songs were interesting enough to keep the crowd jiving till the end. One may mention Caesar , Glowworm, Higher, School Of Fish and Mr Mishra as welcome experiments in alternative and classic rock, though the latter had an uncanny resemblance with Arrested Development's Mr Wendal. "It's alternative rock that wer're interested in," said Rahul. The scores Simba and Animals reflected animal virtues in humans and vice-versa. One feels tempted to say they pulled it off despite a few technical odds. At any rate, it was a promising performance.

Quite a Cassini, This The Times of India, Calcutta Times | Thursday 25 July 2002 Himadri Sekhar Chowdhury   City band Cassini's Division performed at a city music store on Sunday, July 21, from 12 noon onwards. For those who are not acquainted with their music, the band describes itself as Neo-rock or a mixture of Rap and Rock. They lay a great stress on lyrics. Their inspirations vary from Radiohead, Linkin Park, and The Cure to even the Beatles. Sukanti Roy, the guitarist of the band, said, "We have heard Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix or Metallica. But we don't do the classic or psychedelic rock, neither heavy metal, as many other Indian bands do. Our songs, all English numbers, are very lengthy." Rahul is the lyricist and vocalist while Arka plays drums, Ritoban percussions and John bass. On Sunday they played their originals like Simba, Rain Again, Glowworm and School of Fish. Simba is the symbolic representation of a lion. According to the band, while humans are developing animal instincts, animals are developing greater wisdom. Glowworm again is a song against drugs. It describes the physical and mental trauma that an addict undergoes.

Space Rock The Telegraph, Good Life | Wednesday, 24 July 2002 Sreeradha Dasgupta and Sreemati Samanta   Calcutta-based modern rock band Cassini's Division regaled a select audience at Music World recently with an all-original set. The band's one hour set consisted of by now familiar staples such as Simba and School of Fish as also more recent numbers as Only for a While and Caesar. Flitting in and out of heavy tracks, Afro beats and softer songs, the band's sound appealed to a wide cross-section. Cassini's Division's wide range of influences spanning alternative music, classic rock and other contemporary sounds made for an interesting repertoire. There were some minor glitches with the sound, but on the whole the band pulled off a strong performance, especially on tracks such as Only for a While, Animals and Rain Again. The show was part of Music World's attempt to provide a platform to upcoming bands to showcase their stuff.

Cassini's Division impresses with new Punk Rock Sound Hindustan Times, HT City | Tuesday, July 23, 2002 Shamik Bag   Cassini's Division, one of the new bands of the city performed at Music World on Sunday. The band played from their set list that shunned covers and relied entirely on their own English compositions. The band that recently recorded a five-song demo, played a few of their new songs as well. With a more alternative, punk rock sound, their new songs hit off well with the audience. They also performed a selection of some of their old numbers that included Simba, School Of Fish and Animals.