Indian Ocean, the album, was recorded in Calcutta and, despite the crummy mikes and sozzled sound recordist, the band was on a high. They had recorded an original album, almost entirely instrumental, rare outside the world of Indian classical music. The future looked boundless; anything was possible.

But, much to the band’s frustration, the album took a year to get released. But when it did come out, it sold over 40,000 copies within a year of its release – at that time, the highest selling record by any Indian band ever. However, this had no immediate results – in concerts, contracts or money or anything.

In 1994, drummer Shaleen left the band. Amit Kilam, barely out of his teens and, in fact, still taking his college exams, took his place. This has been the line-up since then: Susmit, Asheem, Rahul and Amit.

Money was tight and there weren’t many opportunities to play. But somehow the band believed in themselves and in their music. They kept at it – composing, practicing, playing for themselves, getting better, tighter, more together. Vocals began to be used more and more, and they brought a new dimension to the sound.

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