Some music critics describe the Indian Ocean music as "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution”, a blending of the “improvisational depths of Indian classical music and the cathartic intensity of rock, where structured compositions flow into inspired jams".

Back in 1984 Susmit met Asheem during a concert. Susmit was a fan of Niharika – a Bengali band for which Asheem played tabla. They hit it off right away. Asheem was taken up by Susmit’s guitar-playing and his vision to evolve a new sound. Susmit, in turn, learnt the nuances of rhythm from Asheem. For the next 3 years, every now and then, they jammed as a duo, Susmit on the guitar and Asheem on the tabla and drums. After a memorable debut concert at Roorkee, there were only the occasional stray performances.

In 1990, Susmit sold his electric guitar to raise money for a demo recording of their band, by now called Indian Ocean. With Shaleen Sharma on drums, and Anirban Roy on bass, they taped an incredible 45 minutes and 7 songs in 1 day. Despite the rushed recording, the quality of the demo tape impressed HMV, enough to offer them an album deal.

In 1991, Rahul Ram, a schoolmate of Susmit’s, joined the band, replacing Anirban on bass guitar. Indian Ocean, the band’s first album, was almost entirely instrumental, rare outside the world of Indian classical music. But, much to the band’s frustration, the album took a year to get released. When it did come out, it sold over 40,000 copies within a year of its release – the highest selling record by any Indian band at that time. Unfortunately, this success did not take the band to any dizzy heights in terms of concerts, contracts or financing. The struggle continued!

In 1994, drummer Shaleen left the band. Amit Kilam, barely out of his teens and still taking his college exams, replaced Shaleen. This has been the line-up since then: Susmit, Asheem, Rahul and Amit.

Times Music signed on Indian Ocean in 1998. The following year, the band went to Mumbai to record a new album in the hi-tech studio Western Outdoor. Released in March 2000, Kandisa went on to acquire cult status, becoming one of the best-loved albums of contemporary Indian music.

Kandisa changed everything. The band became a keenly awaited presence on the college circuit, with repeat invites from big cities and smaller towns all over India. The international scene opened up dramatically. Following their first concert in London in August 2001, Indian Ocean performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and were nominated the Pick of the Fringe. They returned to the Fringe in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, the band played 37 concerts internationally across four continents: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, the UK and the USA. In 2003, they toured the UK twice, returned to the Australia, went to Germany and then on to Singapore. In 2004 they flew across the ‘actual’ Indian Ocean, to play on the gorgeous island of Reunion. In 2005, they toured the UK three times. Their high point was performing at Trafalgar Square in the heart of London. Between 2005-07, Indian Ocean band toured the US three times, performing across thirteen states. Today, as their much-stamped passports attest, they are India’s leading global band.

Indian Ocean’s fourth album Jhini was released in 2003, along with the band’s first music video for the title track. The band was nominated as MTV’s Artists of the Month. Jhini won the AVMax Award for the best produced album of 2003. Indian Ocean’s first major foray into Bollywood was through the feature film Black Friday. The soundtrack for the movie was released in 2005 to immediate acclaim, even though the film’s release was stalled by litigation until late 2006. The song Bandeh, with powerful lyrics, reached the second spot in the charts and became a hugely popular hit. More film offers have come their way and the band scored for the film Shoonya in 2007, where they enriched their ever expanding repertoire by peforming on the saxophone and clarinet.

Indian Ocean prepares to release their next music album, Live In Delhi, this month (July ’08), which will be a compilation of their live performances in and around Delhi.

The music of Indian Ocean will soon be heard in the United States and South Africa, as the band which has been churning out heart rending music since the last 18 years, gears up for yet another international tour in August, ‘08. The band will be performing in seven cities of the United States (including San Francisco Bay area) and at Johannesburg in South Africa.