Shyam featured in The Hindu - Making long-distance music

Shyam Narayan, a designer and co-owner of Dig Design has been in a long distance relationship for Laji and Mithun, who together have formed the rock band, Pseutopia. For three to four hours every weekend Shyam sits with his two friends, in New Jersey and Cochin, as they Skype to create their music.

The three have known each other since 1991, when they were in school and started creating music, and have a lot of material which they have collected since then. “Every time Laji comes down from America we jam and try and get some recording done. But we have all created mini studios in our own spaces and it does not matter anymore if we record in a studio or on Skype,” explains Shyam.

The man who creates software interfaces and does other technological things for a living, reserves his weekend for Pseutopia. “I started doing music in school, so it has always been a part of my life,” says Shyam who is also one of the founding members of Indian band, Motherjane. “From the beginning it was always about the music and making songs, there is nothing like playing and so the music kept going on.”

Pseutopia is a logistical nightmare. They record a piece and send it back and forth till it has been fixed and they can move on to another. It is the familiarity of having known each other for so long that works for them. “For us it is like meeting over the weekend for some fun,” he says. The three have known each other since the days when they called their band Mindblower Hairdryer, and Emily's Womb – when they were in school.

The name of the band comes from a combination of pseudo and Utopia, “There is a lot of anger in our songs and what we are saying through them. But most of these songs have been written when we were in school; you could call us a jolly old angry band. A lot of the music we have been writing lately is not so angry,” he says.

The band tries to make a statement with every song they write. Their song “Free Lunch” is an example, as they talk about everything that is going on in the country today. “If you are not angry with the situation in our country today, you must be dead.” The songs by the band can be found on Youtube, Reverbnation and on Facebook.

It was clear from the beginning that they would spend only weekends on their music but there is a time difference that they need to work around as well. “We work on Saturday nights, but we don't care if we might be sacrificing a lot in the process. We knew the stuff we had was pretty good. There are so many people, with so much talent who are not doing anything about it. We are not even talking about making money, it is only about the music,” he concludes.

www.pseutopia.com | Read the original article by Catherine Rhea Roy