A group of young boys jamming in school evolves into a friendship spanning over two decades. Pseutopia a combination of pseudo and utopia is the apt name Laji George, Mithun Raju and Shyam N Vishwanath, chose to call themselves because they were all disillusioned by the state of affairs in India and across the globe. And their angst is reflected in their song Free Lunch which has become an anti-corruption rock anthem. I follow my liberty, not your shallow democracy.. Your hollow sympathy, was never good for me. I will not accept this fate. Break all my bones, but you wont break me... is the kind of lyrics that had endeared Pseutopia with the rest of the world.
“We’ve been jamming since high school in Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Kochi, in 1994. In 2008, we decided to call ourselves Pseutopia,” says vocalist Laji. “We’ve known each other for so long that we know what the other person is thinking even before they say it,” adds bassist Shyam.
After two decades, the boys have moved on to other careers besides music. Laji is a mechanical engineer based out of New Jersey working on eco-friendly heating mechanical systems for industries. Shyam too is a mechanical engineer based in Bangalore working on revamping our BMTC. Mithun, is the only one who stayed back in Kochi and is a music producer for the south Indian film industry.
Being so far away from each other, how do they come together to make music? “We see each other three hours every weekend and jam over the internet. We live in different time zones, so it works well for Laji but not for Mithun and I because we miss our nightlife. We record our music on our computers and send it over to Mithun to synthesise the sound,” says Shyam.
All the three of them write songs for the group that are highly political in nature, and they come out strongly against social issues through their lyrics. Their song Brother is a critique on the media questioning its hold over the people and the information flow. “Music is our activism. We want people to think for themselves and question everything around them,” adds Laji.
But how did they get started? “Pearl Jam,” says Laji without pause to think about the question. “They were the reason we started our band. Our first song Crooked Nose, was recorded in school in 1995.”
Pseutopia is currently on working on their first album which will include the three songs much beloved by fans around the world. “We are also in talks with producers in the US for a North America tour early next year. We hope things pan out well,” says Laji optimistically.