Name: Indus
Members: Oscar Alford (producer, composer), Andres Mercado (percussionist)
Interviewee: Oscar Alford
Nationality: Columbian
Recent release: Indus's new album Negra is out via ZZK.

If you enjoyed this Indus interview and would like to stay up to date with the project and its music, visit Indus on Instagram, and bandcamp.  



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I feel some music calls for eyes closed and some other does not, sometimes it might call for dancing.

But some music might call for both, this is the case sometimes for ritualistic traditional Colombian music. I try to aproach that in my work as a composer.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

I guess with headphones is a more intimate kinda vibe. You might be more focused on details like reverbs and delays.

With speakers you get more of a corporal vibe. You could feel for example the bass vibrating in your chest

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

Sidestepper’s 3am is a British/Colombian record that sounds great and changed the whole scene in Colombian and world music.



It was really important for me and the music I make to have been able to work with Richard Blair for some years in the studio lerning how to mix and make records.

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

The traditional sounds and music from the Caribbean coast I grew up with.

I think as a person, the animals or plants of the land where you grow up really shape you in diferent ways.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

I get really triped out by sounds of things when I travel.

In Europe, for example, by the sound of crows, trains, accents and the silence in the streets.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

Outdoors, in nature especially the sea.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

Yes, a lot. Especially mixing is really like sculpting.

Altought you have to be careful not to overdo it. Sometimes rawness is also important.

How important is sound for our overall well-being and in how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?

I think sound really tells you a lot about a society, about how extroverted or introverted they are ... about what is important to people.

On the Caribbean coast we are really loud people and if there is a neighbor playing loud music sometimes that's viewed as a gift to other people.  

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

Yeah, that's why many producers tend to not actually listen to music haha ... just the one they are working on.

You need to rest your ears.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I used to listen to music all day long when I was younger. But with time, I've come to apreciate silence more.