According to the members of the band Fly Council, there are only two kinds of musicians – Pink Floyd and the rest. As it is obvious, everything related to Fly Council, from its name to the music they play, has taken inspiration from the legendary band Pink Floyd. For them, Pink Floyd means a lot more than just a shot of vodka; the epic band is a renewable source of energy from where they extract the fuel for existence. Fly Council was conceptualised in the early 90s as a psychedelic progressive rock band inspired by the rock giants Pink Floyd. The name Fly Council too is derived from the reggae artist Floyd Council, after whom Pink Floyd is named after. (The Pink Floyd members had borrowed first names of two of their favourite musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council to name their own band). Fly Council is a tribute band formed by a group of die-hard Pink Floyd fans to promote their music. They do shows across the state and their live performances are packed with songs of Pink Floyd and Pink Floyd only. The band had undergone numerous metamorphoses since its formation to become what it is today. It was revived by three city-based musicians Jobin Joseph, Vishnu and Billy in 2008. The band now comprises Jobin Joseph, who play lead guitar and vocals, Vishnu (bass and vocal), Billy (guitar/vocal), Gautham Ramesh (keyboard/vocal) and Subin (drums).When they start speaking, not surprisingly, they talk more about Pink Floyd than themselves. Pink Floyd is addictive and contagious. Their music has stood the test of time, according to Vishnu. “Their music is something that transcended time and genre. People continue to relate to Pink Floyd music even today, while all other artists of their era have been pushed into the vintage bracket. It is exactly why their albums are still sold like hot cakes in markets all over. On an average 85,000 copies of their albums are sold all over per day,’’ Vishnu adds. Speaking of its music, Fly Council is a band which has gone to all extremes and experimented with all sounds possible. Jobin feels that they have a hard task - offering Pink Floyd music to a society which has just started accepting rock music. But they don’t really mind what the end result is. “The real challenge before us is to recreate the same sounds produced by Pink Floyd. It is a band which had gone out to all extremes to experiment with all sounds possible,’’ says Jobin.Jobin, who is heavily inspired by the lead man of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, has even developed custom-made electric guitars and a lap steel guitar, to name a few, to produce the same effect of analogue instruments used by his idol.When it was revived in 2008, the band had 10 members. But the metamorphosis continued and the number has now come down to just five. However, the band is not concerned about the fall in numbers. “We are now a perfect band with every single member equally passionate about the music he plays. Everyone plays his part and no one tries to overshadow the other, which according to us, is the reason why we bonded instantly,’’ says Jobin. In future, they plan to continue with what they are doing at present - play Pink Floyd music. There is also an original album in the pipeline, which will be in English. And the style - progressive psychedelic like Pink Floyd and what else.
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