Relying on 'bedroom studios' to record and master original tracks has several advantages. "Apart from the fact that you save a lot of money by not renting a studio, this approach allows more creative decisions in your hands," says Arjun Subrahmanian, the lead guitarist of Kochi-based alternative rock act Chidakasha. 

Chidakasha is the latest entrant in this club. With this approach, the band further attempted to create a music video around the song, and it's safe to say, the decision resulted into positive outcome. 'Tigress', the band's single that received visual company, is another example of emerging musicians' emphasis on music videos. Speaking about the single, Subrahmanian informs, "A friend of ours went through an extremely difficult phase in her life. In order to overcome it, she had to explore and find her inner strength. No-one, but only she managed to defeat the obstacle and emerge victorious. Lyrically, it's about her. 'Tigress' - a fierce animal - is the epitome of feminine strength. Hence we named the song that." It's not too difficult to notice the obvious influences of Carnatic and Western elements on the vocal front, whereas the remaining sonic scape focuses on sub-genres: funk to hard rock. It's neither risky nor a repeated attempt, as the entire essence of the composition provides a refreshing reminder that the formula of an intro that slowly builds into unifying chorus followed by subtle guitar solos still effectively works. 

The accompanying music video has its own story to tell. The video features the four musicians of the band looking for inspiration. The musicians can be seen wearing boxes over their heads that signifies their inability to "think outside the box." The theatrical representation extends throughout the video as the four musicians seek to find the 'keys to creativity', and while two of them find it through art (in this case, a dancing man), others find it through Kerala's pioneers in alternative rock genre - Avial. With an average age of 22, Chidakasha is young enough to experiment but experienced enough to understand how the 'indie' market works. For the music video, the band received support from entities like 'Studio Pepperfry' for location.

Though young, the members of Chidakasha earlier performed (or continue to) in metal acts and had carnatic vocal training in the past. And the infleunces clearly reflect on Chidakasha's discography. "Although we have released only one, but we have originals that feature aggressive metal sound with growling vocals, and romantic ballads and alternative rock genre," adds Subrahmanian. Chidakasha and its outreach is not the only thing that concerns the four members as musicians.

They, collectively with other city-based musicians, run a community called 'Showtime Kochi' that helps budding musicians perform on a platform. Organised across the city - from halls to streets - the community organises free event called 'Street Jam', every month, that welcomes literally anyone to perform and showcase their love for music.

Chidakasha hopes to record and release the remaining original compositions before the end of the year and tour the country. "Before we do that, as musicians, we think initiatives like Music Mojo (Kappa TV) can provide us the boost we need. So even that falls under our short-term plan," signs off Subrahmanian.

Chidakasha is:

Sachin Rajeev (vocals, lyrics and guitar);

Arjun Subrahmanian (lead guitar and backing vocals);

Rohit Sanjay (bass guitar);

Dixon Dennis (drums);

Krishnan Meep (synth).