Remo Fernandes will be performing in Kochi this Sunday at JTpac. The maverick musician answered in detail queries relating to his music and career in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:
You were the first big Indian name in English rock and pop music in India, who dared to strike out on your own, with zero support. On looking back, how do you feel?
I'm very happy I did it, and today I'm very happy that people like you recognise it! I had all this music inside me which I needed to let out, and since no record companies were giving me a contract, I started my own small home studio in Goa, and put out my first album.
Then one thing led to another; I scored music for two films, ‘Jalwa' and ‘Trikaal', and my music went national and then international within a couple of years. Totally unexpected.
Were you ever interested in architecture?
My Dad taught me my first musical chords and instruments. He always said music was a great hobby, but that one needed something steadier as a profession. I chose architecture because it involved drawing and design, and I loved both.
But as soon as I completed the course I went full time into music… One's profession is something we have to live with for most of our lives, so we might as well choose the one we love most. Then we never work a day in our lives.
Were you completely self taught? Guitar, flute and other instruments?
Yes, totally. I still cannot read or write music. My father enrolled me in music classes when I was about seven, but was wise enough not to force me when I refused to go back.
What is your idea of fusion music? You started it long before it became a vogue.
To me fusion is anything which is not pure-breed. Pure-breed is great, but can get predictable after a while.
When different music styles and cultures are thrown together, something unexpected and uncharted emerges I must say that nothing is truly pure-breed; everything is inter-related, all music and all musicians are influenced by something or someone else, so in a wide way, all music is fusion. We ourselves are fusion.
How different is the music scene today for beginners from the days you started out?
The computer and the internet have changed everything.
Today a kid with a CPU can record himself in CD quality, and put out a song on YouTube, FaceBook, etc. If it touches people's hearts and fancies, it can spread like wild fire.
Your lyrics are about politics, about corruption, staying away from drugs and you feel deeply about such causes. Today, do you find young musicians caring about such social issues?
My songs still are about such things which touch me strongly. Do check out my last release, “India, I Cry”, on YouTube, and on my website www.remomusic.com.
Frankly, I didn't hear socio-political songs in India back then, and I don't hear them today.
You are known to hold views like outsiders should not be allowed to buy land in Goa. Isn't that parochialism?
No. It is protection for a naturally and culturally unique, precious spot in India. We ruin all our natural paradises – look what we have done to Ooty, Simla, Dehra Dun; the list is endless.
These places are simply too tiny and fragile to accommodate onslaughts of settlers and builders from all over the country.
If we keep turning all our natural resorts into metropolis, where do we go on a holiday then?
What about your shows with A. R. Rahman? What is the common factor?
Besides being stage performers, we are both composers and arrangers who can handle everything from A to Z in a recording studio. I guess that's the greatest common factor between us.
You starred in the Pepsi ad more than 20 years ago, again setting a trend. What are you planning now?
What I'm planning now is a return to square one. I'm going to resurrect the old ones, as well as record and release my earliest songs – those written during my school and college days. That ought to be fun!
