The F16’s off to New York to record at the Converse Rubber Tracks studio

Aug 19 • News • 3121 Views • No Comments on The F16’s off to New York to record at the Converse Rubber Tracks studio

With anticipation running high, Chennai Electro Indie rockers, The F16’s talk new album, B-Sides, dance music and the artiste life to Metalbase India ahead of their trip to New York to record at the Converse Rubber Tracks studio next month

The F16’s

Counting The Strokes as one of their biggest early influences, it’s almost a waking wish-fulfillment for The F16’s to get to record at The Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.’s Converse Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn next month, having won OML’s Road to Converse Rubber Tracks in India grand finale earlier this year. They get to record at the Rubber Tracks studio for four-five days and are also looking to play a few gigs while out there. “It’s New York, so the possibilities are endless. You never know, somebody might like us, or somebody might see us. It’s always good to play outside India,” adds frontman Joshua Fernandez.

The band also releases a new music video as a single for their track “Ausenberg” – a term coined by Fernandez – courtesy Pepsi MTV Indies before they fly out; but will not be releasing any new material before their next full length (12 to 14 track) album, which is in the works. Bassist Sashank “Shanks” Manohar says they might release the album before the end of the year. “We’re experimenting with new sounds. As of right now we’re getting the right order of tracks and filtering out the songs we play live for the album,” he adds. The rest of their material, which is a part of their regular sets, they plan to release as B-Sides to their debut EP Kaleidoscope.

The Chennai outfit’s latter half of the year seems to quite jam packed as they’re also confirmed to play Rishu Singh’s New Wave Festival in Goa in November, apart from the other prospective music festivals that are yet to confirm line-ups and a True School of Music scholarship won at Nagaland’s Hornbill festival to redeem.Finding the continued parallels being drawn between their early influences – indie rock giants the Arctic Monkeys, Foals, The Strokes et al – and Kaleidsocope irksome, the band is trying to steer away from the first record in terms of influences. “In essence, the first EP was basically the band playing tribute to its heroes,” adds guitarist Abhinav Krishnaswamy, previously a part of eminent Chennai acts Skrat, The Shakey Rays and Adam & the Fish Eyed Poets, who joined the band when he couldn’t make the move to Delhi with The Shakey Rays.

This is the first time Krishnaswamy is writing with the band and steers our attention towards newer songs like “Lunar Zep”, “Jacuzzi” (Tune in on: NH7 Converse Rubber Tracks Bootlegs release) and “Jericho” as symbolic of the direction they’re going in. “Slowly as we went along we started making music that was more appropriate to us,” adds Fernandez.

The five piece band has been listening to dance music acts like LCD Soundsystem and Liars to try and bring some of that element into the record – evident in their Alt-Dance track “Drag Dance Disco”. “If you want to make a dance music setup with a live band then that’s (LCD Soundsystem) pretty much the way to go. James Murphy (frontman) kinda wrote the book on the whole thing,” adds Krishnaswamy.Apart from tracks from the EP, The F16’s have an ensemble of more than 10 new songs where you see them mellow out with darker, slower tones, while some are really heavy. “We don’t play half our songs on the EP anymore,” says Fernandez.

Rare to see the audience take to a band so well in India – with releasing their EP, winning India Bike Week and the Rolling Stone Jack Daniels Rock Awards (Best new band), playing NH7 Weekender in their first year and already flying to the US in their second year – the band attributes their success to pursuing music full time. “We survive. It’s a hard life, it’s a good life. You got to do what makes you happy. If you love it, you’re going to make sure you’re the best at what you do. Which is what really pushes us,” adds Fernandez.
Having played venues all over the country, the Chennai rockers enjoy the vibes and energy from live performances, however the studio process has its own charm – with vocal harmonies difficult to perform outside the studio, experimenting with layers wins brownie points. “When we play live it’s all about delivering to the audience what they want to hear. It’s brilliant. I love it when the audience bounces that same energy back on to you,” says Fernandez.

The F16’s Live (Photo Courtesy: Swetha Joyson Photography)

Other engagements that occupy the band members are Harshan Radhakrishnan (synths) and Fernandez’s electronica project for which the two are hitting the studios, while Manohar executes the band’s artwork and drummer Vikram Yesudas dabbles in real estate.