In this interview spotlight, I chat with Akshit Jha of Krow Wen about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
I am a guitarist from Delhi. I make music for my solo project “Krow Wen”. The kind of music I make is a mixture of the two genres that I love the most, progressive metal and ambient. It’s just an amalgamation of layers and layers of ambience with heavy guitars and groovy rhythms.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music?
As a 14-year-old, I started discovering bands like Slipknot, Behemoth, Leprous amongst many others. The first time I picked up my guitar was when I heard the main riff from Liberate by Slipknot. But where my guitar journey really started was through Gojira. I remember discovering them for the first time as a kid and getting my mind blown by their album From Mars to Sirius. I remember trying to imitate what Joe Duplantier was trying to do on guitar without any tabs. The noises these guys made with their guitars were completely alien to me. The creative ways in which those guitar parts were arranged and the sheer heaviness that I was exposed to, man I wish I could hear that album for the first time all over again. Moreover, it also inspired me to write better drum parts for my songs. I am a huge fan of Mario Duplantier’s drumming. As a musician, I probably watch more drum covers than guitar covers. I love modern technology and the possibilities and opportunities it provided for me as a bedroom musician. But it wasn’t always so easy for me. I started out with a cheap laptop and no audio interface or any other equipment. A cheap electric guitar and a cheap amp were what I had. I used to connect my headphones to my amp and stick the headphones to my laptop mic with tape to record ideas and riffs. That was until I bought my first audio interface and a mic. I had no prior training in guitar or music production when I started making music in 2015. In the past 6-7 years, I have taught myself how to play the guitar, mix and master my own songs, as well as record videos and covers for youtube. It was all possible due to my love for music, heavy music in general. I grew up on heavy music and that’s something that changed my life. Most people like their Floyds, Beatles, and whatnot. I never got into that stuff. Heavy music is where I found my inspiration.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
I recently got my first 7-string guitar this year and ‘Traces Of Winter’ was the first song I wrote with that guitar. I am a massive fan of bands like Meshuggah, Periphery, Tesseract and many other ‘Djent’ bands. Although I didn’t realize it when I was writing the guitar parts, I later realized that they sounded awfully similar to the bands I mentioned. I didn’t specifically set out to make something different. That’s not something I care about personally when writing music. It usually starts with just me jamming for a couple of hours and then coming up with an idea. The opening riff was my main idea and I tried to build a whole song around it. Artistically, It’s a departure from my recent releases which spans a lot of genres and styles. It is all over the spectrum. Musically, I have dipped my feet in all genres including thrash metal, death metal, metalcore, etc. This song in fact is an ode to my roots and my earlier style, which was more progressive, groovy, and the most important of them all: ambient. I always make sure to layer my songs with eerie guitars laden with delays and reverb. I also use multiple synth pads and samples to fill the sonic space and give the song a fuller sound. One more thing I wanted to do was to get my friend Ardsheer Ali to write a solo for the middle section. He wrote it within a day and sent me the recording. I was so inspired by how well the solo complemented the part, that I had to write my own solo after his. So yeah, that’s something new. Two solos in a Krow Wen song, where you won’t even get a single one most of the time. I’m not a solo guitarist. My roots lie in rhythm and groove. But this song gave me a chance to challenge myself and write a solo to back up the already amazing solo Ardsheer had written.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these times? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
Before the pandemic, I was living alone in Hyderabad. I had an amazing campus life at the university that I was living in at the time. Staying alone works the best for me because I can write whatever I want to, whenever I want. And if I want, I can just keep writing music and not care about anything else; time, relationships or friends. That is my me time and I don’t want any distractions. I had to come back home because of the pandemic. Plus I was a student at that time and the workload was too much for me. I kind of stopped creating music for around 9 months. I didn’t touch my guitar I didn’t open any session. I just didn’t feel motivated enough. I’d randomly think of finally picking up the guitar and something from within would stop me. So when I finally felt like I was straying away from the one thing that I loved doing the most, I decided to take a break from my University work and dedicate around a week to writing some new music. I just started with jamming for a couple of hours and put together a song finally after 9 months.
What was the last song you listened to?
Friday Knight by Four Stroke Baron. I absolutely love this band for what they do. Mixing heavy rhythms with new wave/80s style vocals. Amazing stuff. I have also been checking out the new Spiritbox album ‘Eternal Blue’. Truly groundbreaking stuff from one of the hottest metal bands on the planet.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
I personally prefer listening to music through Spotify. Kind of weird because I know it pays the least, but it’s the most accessible form. But I do make sure to buy music and merch from bands I adore and support. I’d love to be able to afford vinyls one day.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
You can find me on various streaming platforms by the name “Krow Wen”.
Stream my music here! | Linktree
I have a youtube channel where I do covers of bands I love.
I’m also on Instagram by the handle @krowwen.0000. I post cinematic shorts with ambient music that I make, and sometimes just random riffs and ideas.
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
That’s pretty much it, I’d be releasing a debut EP by the end of the year, so keep a lookout for that on my socials. Thanks for having me!
To whosoever is reading this, never stop listening to music that other people hate.
