Band Q & A
Ver 1.1 - August 2022
1. Introduce yourselves. Where you are from?
We are Nitish Ubhee and Shelley Seeam, from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. We have formed a rock band whose style is alternative metal/post-grunge.
2. What first got you into music and inspired you to make music?
We were in high school in the year 2000 when we attended a concert by our high school band. We were drawn to the excitement and ‘coolness’ of playing live on stage, and after that we regularly went to watch the band rehearse in the high school gym.
It was also during that time that Linkin Park released the album Meteora, which made a huge impact on our teenage minds and music taste!
Then, during our university days, we set up and played with different bands, performing mainly during university events and concerts.
Now, finally, at the start of 2021, we have formed our own band, Heroes Fall Last, and we have set up our own music studio.
Our music journey and preferences have been largely influenced by bands such as Foo Fighters, Alter Bridge, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and many more. That influence gave us the sonic/punch balance we were always looking for.
We have also found inspiration in the growth of local rock bands in our country. The evolution of music in our part of the world is driven by passion above all else, which gives a beautiful meaning to music.
3. How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Distinctive melodic riffs in distorted guitar and vocal dynamics that emulate traditional post-grunge attitude and harsh vocals/screams
4. Explain your singles
- Single 1 - He Shivaaya Shankara
He Shivaaya Shankara is a devotional rock song released on the occasion of a religious festival in Mauritius. It is a collaboration with a group of local amateur singers. The song is their interpretation of the third god in the Hindu triumvirate, Shiva, the Lord of Destruction and Re-creation.
The challenge with this song was the vocals tracking to get what we had in mind, i.e. a wall of vocals to catch the sombreness of Lord Shiva.
- Single 2 - Can’t Face Me
This is a standard get-up-and-fight-the-system anthem. Can’t Face Me is a blues-infused rock song dealing with the feeling of oppression and helplessness brought about by bureaucratic red-tape, and how the system can be taken to task and made to face the consequences of their actions.
The song takes elements of post-grunge and punk vocals and melodic hard-rock riffs for an energetic, venom-laced output. The vocal delivery is upfront and in-your-face, feeding off the aggressiveness of the lyrics, and is reminiscent of Layne Staley.
The unique experience we had while tracking this song was that, while recording the vocals, we accidentally cranked the 12AX7 vacuum tube pre-amp with so much gain that the output signal delivered a unique upper harmonics and saturated character. We loved it so much that we kept it for the take. This happened purely by accident!
5. What is your creative process like?
Our creative process will typically start by trial and error, by trying of guitars/bass progressions, to which we then try to add some vocal melody or lyrics that make sense to us at that time.
If past the creative process, the song really takes a shape and has a good flow (i.e. the chorus and arrangement are interesting), we develop the arrangement by jamming along with an acoustic guitar as in a live setup. We carry out a quasi-similar process to Dave Grohl, writing the demos on the acoustic guitar first.
The creative process will usually then skyrocket from there, with the addition of drums, making the intro of the song, making the sense out of it all during hours of trial and error.
The lyrics are usually written as we go in the creative process by Shelley, until we have a full draft. Shelley and his wife usually work on the flow together.
6. Who would you like to collaborate with most?
We are currently in collab projects with other local artists with different styles/genre on our platform called HFL Sessions.
HFL Sessions is a collaboration with guest artists, featuring both original and cover songs of various genres. It is a platform on which to explore different musical influences and to present them in a fresh, contemporary, unique way. The first HFL Session was released in April 2021.
We have discussed with prospective artists of different genres, from heavy metal to local music, for future Sessions. The HFL Sessions will continue after the release of our single 'Can't Face Me'. Currently we have released 3 HFL Sessions:
HFL Session 1: Ab Tohe Jaane Na Doongi | Laal Ishq Mashup Cover - Premiered on: 21st April 2021 | Guest Artist: Ushna Seeam
HFL Session 2: Walk Away | Heroes Fall Last x Anthony Grant – Original Song
HFL Session 3: Moh Moh Ke Dhaage Cover | Premiered on 20-Apr-22 | Guest Artist: Bhavish Ghoorbin and Akhilesh Gunhea
HFL Session 4: Black Clouds | Heroes Fall Last x Copperstone | Release date on 9-Sep-22 |
7. If you could open a show for any artist, who would it be?
We can’t imagine a show being held for the time being. Things are not currently the same as before and we don’t know how much tougher it could get in the future, with this ongoing pandemic.
But if we could go back in time, the show we would have loved to have opened was the Summer Sanitarium arena tour for Linkin park (live in Texas) in 2003.
8. What is one message you would like to give to the people?
Try, there’s always a way. Everyone can be a hero, and everyone must be their own hero, in that heroes do not believe in lost causes, and they never leave a fight.
9. What are you doing right now apart from your music career?
We are full-time working people. Nitish is a welfare officer in the maritime sector. He recently got married. Shelley is in the scientific field, working in the laboratory of an oil refinery. Shelley is also married, and has a 1 year old daughter.
10. Where have you performed?
The last time we performed live was in 2016, with one of our old bands. We have played in over 15 shows during our university days, from 2010 to 2014.
11. How do you feel the Internet and social media have impacted the music business?
Internet and social media have created a new normal in the music business. Music-making and targeting audience have become easier.
The internet has brought everyone together in one continent, and has provided a platform where everyone has a chance to be whoever they want to be creativity-wise.
Hence, the music business has become much more accessible to artists than ever before. Nowadays, an independent artist can create a song, record, mix and master it, and distribute it online on major streaming platforms in less than a month, with all of it being done online at home.
This does make us reflect on the struggles and resilience of independent or up-and-coming artists back in the day. They mostly had only one way or two to have a big break by sending demos to labels.
12. What is your favourite song you like to play in live sessions?
Can’t say for now, it is still a secret project! we will be revealing it in our EP soon.
13. Which famous musicians do you admire?
Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge, Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters, Chester Bennington from Linkin Park, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana. These are/were great musicians and great human beings. Their music is not only very technical but comes straight from the heart.
14. What is the best advice you have been given about music?
It’s from our guitar teacher, Mr Roshan Nepavol, who said, “Don’t learn the guitar. Learn the music inside of you.”
15. If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Speaking as people who have into music for long but who are only now emerging as artists, we would like to see more encouragement for up-and-coming musicians. We feel like the industry can be more welcoming towards new entrants.
In terms of our local music industry, we believe that there could be more unity in the community. The industry is currently fragmented. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and it’s each band for himself. We feel that we would all benefit if we band together and encourage each other. Music is about unity and togetherness, after all.
16. What’s next for you?
The band is preparing for their first EP, which will comprise 4 post-grunge/alternative metal songs in the year (2022). The project is currently in the mixing phase.
This EP will be darker, and will depict our view of the current status of the world. The EP will centre on how we can stand together and fight for the right cause, and how anybody can be a hero by standing up for what is right. We believe that this EP have a certain signature sound of the band and also influences/experiences we have gathered in our HFL Sessions.
Expect some Phrygian dominant riffs twisted with modern-edge/post-grunge sounds. The EP will have some heavy scream vocals compared to previous releases.
Other projects we have in mind: 2 singles (1 in the style of 'He Shivaaya Shankara' ) and 1 cover