Jean-Noel Scherrer, Antoine Baschung, Julien Peultier and Timothee Gerard — members of French rock band Last Train who are currently on a visit to India — may be nervous about tasting “spicy food” in the country, but they clear about one thing: Indian music influences artistes globally.
The band is here as part of the Bonjour India Rock tour, presented by the French Institute in India.
Baschung, the drummer, said, “We are very excited to be here and about exploring all the cities we are travelling to. We haven’t seen much yet, but we will be seeing the city. We are nervous about the food also because we don’t really eat spicy food; so that will be an experience.”
Last Train performed with Colt Silvers in Delhi on Wednesday, and they will perform in Chennai on Friday as part of a 10-city tour presented by music management company Mixtape.
A band from the east of France, it was formed by four childhood friends who have been making music together for over a decade. Their first two EPs, The Holy Family and Fragile, received critical acclaim.
They have since performed to sold-out audiences, opening for musicians like Muse and Rival Sons. In 2016, Last Train won the biggest French festival for upcoming bands, Le Printemps de Bourges, and toured across Europe with 40 shows in two months.
Earlier this year, the band released a full-length album Weathering on their own label Cold Fame Records.
Excited about their first India trip, Scherrer, the vocalist, said: “It’s our first time in India; so we will be playing our music because we want to share ourselves with the Indian audience. We want to stay honest to our music and to our audience. But after every performance we try to tweak it according to our audience.”
As a global music band, they are proud of the transformation of the Indian music scene.
“We worked with an American psychedelic rock band with an Indian musician and some Indian sounds. We also listen to Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar… The sounds of the sitar have been used by several musicians. Indian music does influence artistes globally.
“We also made a joke that we will come back to France after visiting India like The Beatles went back post their India visit,” said guitarist Peultier.
Gerard, the bass player in the band, said Bonjour India 2017-18 is just the start of their India association.
“We went to Japan and then we went back again and got a booking agent there. We definitely plan on coming again after Bonjour India. Also, we think two weeks are not enough to see India; so we have to come back and see more of it,” Gerard said.
Bonjour India Rock Tour brings together youth from France and India to take French rock to new audiences and allow new collaborations in lesser-explored parts of India.
With an aim to strengthen Indo-French ties, the platform aims to promote innovation and creativity.