Grey Shack, a Chennai rock band formed in college classroom, on unapologetic, loud music

Indie rock band Grey Shack, formed in 2007 in a classroom at a private college in Chennai, is set to bring in fresh, authentic indie rock in the form of a third full-length album on Saturday, September 13.

The album release party by the homegrown indie band’s latest album, will be performed at Metal Chennai’s third edition of ‘Home Brewed’.

The album, Inn Gloom, tells the story of a man who is devastated over the loss of a relationship; his surroundings echo the inner turmoil that plagues him. The protagonist proceeds to enter Inn Gloom, a hotel, to turn and face the demons that haunt him. The album takes the road oft-traveled and turns it on its head, making an open-ended inquiry into the human psyche that’s experiencing loss and grief.

“We intentionally left things open-ended because it’s the perspective that matters in the end, and not its resolution, necessarily. We wanted to convey through our music that once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. A new perspective or an experience gained from listening to the album is whatever the listener makes it out to be,” said Vikram Vivekanand, one of the founders of the band.

Grey Shack, the band
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Special Arrangement

The band describes their album as “rather adventurous” and does not adhere to one special style of music.

“Every track is stand-alone. It mirrors what our protagonist is experiencing at the ‘Inn Gloom,’” said Ramkumar Kanakarajan, the drummer of Grey Shack.

“We wanted this album to be a raw and real portrayal of music made by people from Chennai who had been together, making music, since 2007. We believe that it doesn’t matter if art is fictitious; as long as it’s real, there will be a real audience eager to connect with the art,” said Vivek.

The band defined their latest artistic endeavor as a means of showcasing the entity’s collective evolution. With long-time collaborator and friend Prashant Oliver as current lead vocalist for the band at the helm, the members felt effortless in being inspired by newer styles of music to compose fresh sounds.

“One isn’t going to get Dream Theater, Mr. Big, or any other band that we’ve been influenced by. It’s a complete departure from our usual style of music. This is to show how we’ve evolved as musicians,” said Vivek, emphatically. “We’ve always been unapologetic and loud about our music,” he added.

“We believe that it does not matter if we’re making the ‘right kind’ of music. India mass-produces a lot of mainstream music. If our effort is a step in the direction to ground indie music in Chennai, then we’re glad it’s happening regardless of how it is going to be perceived by the masses,” riffed Ramkumar in response to his bandmate’s observation.

Grey Shack will be performing their latest album live at The Spotted Deer, Akkarai, on September 13. The show will begin from 7pm. Tickets are available via Metal Chennai’s social media pages.