Exclusive Interview With Underground Authority ( Winner Of Hornbill International Rock Contest, 2013)

         An alternative rap rock band from Kolkata just took Home the Massive Jackpot at The Great Hornbill International rock contest 2013. After a series of heat, Underground Authority emerged as the winner of the Great Hornbill international Rock Contest this year. Grabbing 4 individual prizes, Massive Metal India presents you an exclusive Interview with the Band Underground Authority.

The Winning Moment

Massive Metal India- Hi Underground authority, Congratulations on your Massive achievement and thanks for taking the time to chat with Massive Metal India! Well as a winner now, it’s almost unthinkable, but somewhere I suppose, someone may not know Underground Authority yet. Can you introduce yourself and your band to our readers?

 Underground Authority is:

Santhanam Srinivasan Iyer(lead rap/vocals)

Soumyadeep Bubbla bhattacharya(bass/vocals)

Kuntal De(guitars and effects/vocals)

Sourish Kumar(drums)

Adil Rashid(lead guitars/vocals)

Massive Metal India- So, as a winner of the Great hornbill International Rock Contest 2013, what do you have to say to your fans and Music Enthusiast across the country and the globe as well?

UA- Well we did it!!..It wasn't easy stepping into a competition after so many years and thanks to all their support we've come out on top again..Please keep supporting us and we will continue to serve you all with our music.

Massive Metal India- Can you describe Hornbill International Rock Contest from the experience and triumph you have just received? And at the end combine HIRC in just 3 words.

UA- It was a massive festival..The set up was amazing, the bands were great, the judges were huge personalities, the hospitality was warm and the ambience was ecstatic. We were pretty nervous during our performances but the amazing response from the music loving crowd just made our day..and once they started cheering, it felt like a UA show more than a competition. We had immense support and were very happy that it led us to victory.

In three words it was-

INSPIRING, ECSTATIC AND OVERWHELMING!!

Massive Metal India- Tell us something about the Band’s Influence, Interests and Messages you give as a band.

UA- We call ourselves an alternative rap rock band but our influences come from a plethora of musical genres. Each member is deeply influenced by varied forms of music like hip hop, electronica, dubstep, progressive rock, jazz, pop, metal and classic rock. We always write songs with a message like You Can't Stop Us (that speaks of racism), Microphone (speaks of politics and how speaking up can do a world of good), Grab (about the unconventional path to success and sticking to your dreams), and also we write sings about a whole lotta fun like Kkash meri Girlfriend.

Massive Metal India- What is Underground Authority’s secret? Alternative Rap Rock bands have never been a winner of the Hornbill Rock Contest or have their name been listed for the grand Finale.

UA- Well I guess it's not about the genre but about the quality and honesty in your music. We played with complete honesty and dedication and that's what took us to victory..

Massive Metal India- Did you ever thought to be the winner of this Contest? If Yes/No, Why?

UA- We really needed to win as we had suffered a huge financial setback, Plus we wanted to prove that doing music in Hindi is no shameful feat. However, we hadn't competed in years so we were really tensed..But the crowd's support actually made us comfortable about victory.

Massive Metal India- What has been the Best moment of the Band in the Music Event apart from the Winning Moment?

UA- The best moments keep coming and I believe the best is yet to come. We met Salman khan, jammed with Rudolph Schenker of the scorpions, Won hornbill, God has been kind to us and I hope he has more in store for us.

Massive Metal India- 1 Million isn’t small plus with all the individual packages and prizes, what plans do you have with all those money?

UA- Well we needed the money..It will all go into upgrading our equipment and promoting our upcoming album “You”. Authority in the best possible way.

Massive Metal India- Do you have any comments for the crowds and audience in Nagaland?

UA- Nagaland people are amazing. They love good music and appreciate it and we were extremely lucky to play in front of them and the fact that they loved us was an amazing feeling..We hope to go there and do a fully fledged show soon.

Massive Metal India- Once again, a big Congratulation!! Congratulations to the band and the members, for their great efforts in winning all the individual prizes. You guys really deserve it!! Thank you so much for this time. Any Last words you have to add?

UA- Underground Authority will always remain a people's band and we will continue with our motto-

Inspire, Lead, Revolutionize.

Lots and Loads Of Awards

For Who Don't Know Massive metal India

Today we have thousands of talented Artists, Bands, Guitarists, Drummers and Musicians as a whole amongst ourselves. In fact Our Musicians are the best and we don’t need to bring any renowned bands to our stage and watch them live.   But our Musicians are not there yet – in fact no doubt they’re nowhere near that yet – BUT WHAT IS SO VITAL AT THIS CRUCIAL STAGE IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT IS THAT YOU GIVE THEM A CHANCE. At least go listen, watch, like, support and give them words of encouragement or support. Tomorrow they may be your favourite Musician on your List! They really need you now.

We are a page to help new and upcoming bands/artists all around the globe get the publicity they deserve. We will do our best to help you out with promoting your pages, upcoming events, gigs and more...

A Perfect Blend of genres, people, and friends trying to spread the local music scene as far out as possible. It doesn’t matter if you’re hardcore, metal core, indie-core, gibberish core, your momma-core, or not any kind of-core, Indie, funk, jazz and anything. It’s all about getting out there so post your shows, links, websites, blogs, nudes, songs, videos, or just a simple hello. If you have a band, Please post your music on this page. Let the world know about your band and its music today. Simply link or add your information to whatever type of music you play or talent you have. We will help promote your music and skills. POST YOUR MUSIC HERE!

We are not promising you’ll find the next band you’ll love for the rest of your life but you will find talent and passion – and there’s no price on that.

JBC Live - MTF Series December 2013

Date: 13th December, 2013

Venue: Jumping Bean Cafe, Dimapur

Time: 6:30 PM onwards

Entry: Free

Artists/Bands line up:

YESTERDRIVE (NEW DELHI)

TABA CHAKE feat. PHIL JAMJA (BANGALORE)

JOKER'S NIGHT (DIMAPUR)

D.ZARA (KOHIMA)

For more info on bands please check out the links below:

YESTERDRIVE

https://www.facebook.com/yesterdrive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zr8vk6oIC0

TABA CHAKE feat. PHIL JAMJA

https://www.facebook.com/ChakeTabaMusic

https://www.facebook.com/zaamzii2?fref=ts

JOKER'S NIGHT

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jokers-Night

D. ZARA

https://www.facebook.com/pages/DZara/237809836382191

Alobo Naga- The Greatest Gift (New Single)

        Alobo Naga, the Front man of Alobo Naga & The Band (ANB), an Indian rock Band hailing from Dimapur, Nagaland, is here with a Christmas gift for all his fans! The New single "The Greatest Gift"  is out now and you can download it from the link given below.

           

A status from his Officail Social Media site reads “All I can offer you all this Christmas is a simple Christmas song "The Greatest Gift"!!

Go download it for free

http://indihut.com/alobonaga/ Click Here

Live Photos of Hornbill International Rock Contest 2013

       2013's Hornbill International Rock Contest was packed with various genres of bands from all the four corner of the country and competition was very obviously set to be bigger and better than ever! This year the bands on stage forced the audience despite the freezing cold weather to pull out their hands shoved in the pockets, jump with the beats and have fun with Music. The aim of the Hornbill International Rock Contest is Simple- to discover new bands and new music, and give the deserving winners a shot of fame, fortune and exposures.

This Year Hornbill International witnessed the following bands

·        Johnmpamei and the Band

·        4 Degrees of Freedom

·        Circle's End

·        Yesterdrive

·        Purple Fusion

·        Street stories

·        Underground Authorities

·        Phobia

·        Turnkey

·        Red Light Passengers

·        The Wishes

·        The White Noise

·        The Urban Earlymen

·        The F16s

·        Ground Zero

·        Nigambodh

·        Colossal Figures

·        Sycorax

·        Zero Gravity

·        Eye Still

·        Death Note

·        Infuse

·        Making Merry

·        We the Giants

The Audition flagged off on the 6th of December, 2013 which lasted for 3 days. The Participating Bands confronted with The Best of the best Bands from the Country and the Globe as well. Indeed it was a tough decision for the judges’ panel to bring out the best 9 bands out of the total for the grand finale. This year the packages of the winner are massive, the attention from the audience and media is enormous, and the bands are just Awesome!! However, it's a competition and the tagging of being the winner is not possible for all the competing bands. The nine bands that was selected for the grand Finale are:

·        The F16s

·        Underground Authorities

·        Making Merry

·        Sycorax

·        Nigambodh

·        We the giants

·        The urban Earlymen

·        4 Degrees Of freedom

·        White Noise

The Contest came to an end and it was time to learn who the winner is of the Great Hornbill International Rock contest in 2013. It was a truly impressive group of musicians who made it a fantastic night and festival as well! In a tough competition at the Battle of the Bands finale on 10th Dec at Solidarity Park, the Winner of The Great Hornbill International Rock Contest was decided as

1st Prize- Underground Authority

1st Runners Up- We The Giants

2nd Runners Up- The F16s

Most Promising Band (By TSM) - The F16s

Best Nagaland Band (By TSM) - We The Giants

Individual Prizes

Best Vocal Band- Underground Authority

True School Of Music’s Best Vocals

- 1st Runners Up- We the Giants

- 2nd Runner ups- Nigambodh

Best Lead Guitarist- Infuse (₹ 30000+ Ibanez Guitar)

True School Of Music’s Best Guitarist

1st Runners up- Underground authority

2nd Runners up- We the Giants

Best Bassist- Underground Authority

True School Of Music’s Best Bassist

- 1st Runners Up- Nigambodh

- 2nd Runners up- The F16s

Best Drummer- Underground Authority

True School Of Music’s Best Drummer

- 1st Runners Up- The F16s

-2nd Runners Up- Sycorax

Best Keyboardist- The F16s

True School Of Music’s Best Keyboardist

- 1st Runners Up - White Noise

- 2nd Runners Up- Ground Zero

The Hornbill crew had a tough decision, but in the end it was the best of the best for the win!

White Noise, a five piece band from Nagaland opened the stage and followed by the following in sequence

Sycorax (Darjeeling)

The Urban EarlyMen (New Delhi)

Nigambodh (New Delhi)

The F16s (Chennai)

Making Merry (Nagaland)

We the Giants (Nagaland)

4 Degrees Of Freedom (Jharkhand)

Underground Authority (Kolkata)

They contest witnessed the biggest crowds of the 4 days long event and is ended by a guest performance by the band Divine Connection. Here are some of the live actions photographed by our ground Photographer.

Photo Courtesy-  Akuto Levine

Check his photography page Click Here