A Dirty Dozen with ABHIRUK from FLYING CUPID – March 2021

According to a recent press release: “Guitarist Abhiruk Patowary has revealed a guitar playthrough for “Into the Light,” the second single from his band FLYING CUPID’s upcoming debut album, All Turns to Dust. 19-year-old Indian-born Patowary is a multi-instrumentalist whose musical journey began 11 years ago with piano, followed by drums five years later and guitar the year after. He began studying at the esteemed Berklee School of Music, but due to the pandemic, was forced to return to his native India.” We get Abhiruk to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The song is very straightforward and is primarily based around the chorus which I wrote first. In terms of any nuggets, this song was the first song I wrote when lockdown happened, and the entire demo took exactly 37 minutes to be finished.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I started playing piano when I was 8 for just fun but over time it just grew to me and in my teenage I came across Slipknot and Suicide Silence which really blew my mind. One moment which made me realize I want to be a musician is when I was 13 I went to see a local band play and it was the first time I went to a proper concert. When I saw them on stage and experienced proper live music for the first time I just knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake was the album for me that led me to start writing metal properly and it did lead me to my current influences as well.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Opeth, Killswitch Engage, Periphery, Veil of Maya and Lamb of God.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

It would be either Spencer Sotelo or Serj Tankian. Amazing vocalists aside both of them are terrific writers and can do wonders to any song.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would describe it as simple metalcore with little nuggets of prog if I had to describe this project. The project is fairly new so I haven’t got any criticism that would made me cringe most of it has been really constructive.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

This is my solo project so I think for this project its all me.

8. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

It was when I saw Steve Vai live, I just got goosebumps watching him play, it was quite an experience. Apart from that the first time I saw Tesseract live I was just mesmerized by how talented everyone is in the band.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I’ve two things. One being that the power of creation an artist holds is just so surreal to me and the other aspect is the high of playing live, nothing could replace the energy and the feeling I get when I’m on stage and that’s what keeps me going. And if I wasn’t a musician I would definitely be doing something related to writing, maybe journalism or even filmmaking.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I love music and you already asked what’s the best part of being a musician and that’s what always love to talk about. In an interview and coming to the second part of the question as long as a question comes out of interest I do not mind answering anything.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I was 17 when I sealed Aerial by Gaia and looking back I could’ve been more mature in terms of writing and production so somewhere down the road I would always love to re-produce my first album.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Its got to be Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, that record was a game changer and a masterpiece. And Linkin Park is an artist I listened and admired before I even knew what metal was so this record always has a very special place in my heart.

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Category: Interviews