Pseudonym: Music with an alternative twist

Formed in 2006, Pseudonym started off with instrumental gigs and later tried their hand at song writing. They have already performed at Planet M outlets, City Centre and Someplace Else.

‘Our music carries a hidden untold truth and hence the name Pseudonym’, says Devapriya.

When asked about their plans to survive in the music band circuit in Kolkata, Rajan says, ‘If the quality of music is good, then it will surely make a mark. Churning out fresh songs is important and one of our primary aims is to do things from the listeners’ point of view’.

Unlike older bands that only aim at playing good music, Pseudonym wants to go about it professionally. They are loath to leave any stone unturned for the promotion of their band and are rolling out shows as well as web marketing for this purpose. But amazingly, they aren’t interested to use music competitions as a vehicle for promotion. As Somprotim puts it, ‘I don’t think music can be judged and what bothers me the most is that performances are usually hugely affected in big competitions’.

The band also showcases a good number of instrumentals, of which the most famous is ‘Clouds’. They prefer not to be bound by genres, and acknowledge Joe Satriani, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Alanis Morissette and Sarah McLachlan among their primary influences.

In addition their new originals ‘Moonwalk’, ‘Ants in a Queue’ and ‘Disgust’, the band’s recent performance at Someplace Else included quite a number of covers like ‘For the Love of God’ (Steve Vai), ‘Surfing With the Alien’ (Joe Satriani), ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You’ (Joan Jett), ‘I’m Only Happy When it Rains’ (Garbage).

Pseudonym doesn’t plan to come up with a full-fledged album. Rather, they want to go for EPs. Their shows are already creating quite a buzz, and since their music is fresh, it seems they’re all set to hit the chord of success soon.

WHAT FANS SAY

Prasanna Singh, a software professional and music enthusiast, says, ‘I have been to four of their shows and I quite liked it. Alternative modern rock style makes them different from other bands in Kolkata. They are a bunch of talented good musicians. But as for their last show at Someplace Else, they performed more covers than originals. So, I’d be looking forward to more original numbers from them. And yes, they have the potential to be quite successful’.

Sudip Banerjee, electrical engineer and band manager of Crystal and the Witches, has a lot to say about Pseudonym. ‘You’ll get good varieties in their covers of Joe Satriani, Lacuna Coil, etc., which is good because you won’t get a chance to see bands covering Lacuna Coil or Joe Satriani’.

However, Banerjee also agrees that since people are interested in original music, Pseudonym should come up with a full set of originals. ‘Another thing is that they are the only band in the established circuit that plays good instrumental numbers. So their shows will be a great treat for music lovers’, he adds.


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