When I was a 5 year old kid, I was most probably playing with some toy or watching Cartoon Network. Never heard of Iron Maiden. When this guy was 5 years old, he was listening to Iron Maiden and actually worshiping them. From auditioning for the band Kryptos back in 1999 and then eventually deciding to start his own band Phallusy (which didn't last long though) and creating TEN solo projects under different alias es, this man has been there and done that. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Pritham Denzil D'souza, better known as the Metal Farmer.

Q 1. Ok, let me point my .9 caliber to your head and ask you in a cold voice - "How did it all begin"?

Pritham : It all began when back in 1985 when I was 5 years old. My brother played a tape of top of the pops and 1 band in the entire line up caught my attention. The band was IRON MAIDEN and the song was "RUNNING FREE" . I have been a dedicated metal head ever since!

Q 2. During 2008 you overtook the mighty Kryptos in the ReverbNation Metal charts and at that time no one actually knew you, how different is the scenario now?

Pritham : I have been playing in bands since 1994, we were called THE OUTLAWS in Mangalore and we used to do covers of Iron Maiden, Metallica , Megadeth and Priest ( who didn't?). Well to be honest no one knows me even today and I am happy the way things are. For me, music is an outlet to channelise my frustrations and feelings and that is why whenever I (de)composed music, its always been from the heart and without trying to impress anyone. I am a recluse and hence non commercial. My music is still freely available online and if you send me your email ID, I will even send u my tracks for freeeeeeeee!!

Q 3. You have numerous projects under different aliases - In Desolution, Morbid Pitbull, Obire Diem and my favourite - Sticky Frog, to name a few. Being so heavily influenced by NWOBHM, how did you compose music of such a varied genre, is it the passion or is it just pure inspiration?

Pritham : I think u are the first one to actually like STICKY FROG, THANKS! Currently I have 10 ongoing projects. In Desolation (Doom/Sludge), Morbid Pitbull (Shred Rock), Sticky Frog (bizarre Jazz Prog), Scavenger Of Human Sorrow (NWOBHM), The Electric Tears (Electro Acoustic), Mob Fury (Thrash), Cannibal Crops (Death/Grind), Obire Diem (NWOBHM), Bed Pan Boy (everything) and My Infinite Dreams Project ( Iron Maiden Tribute).

Obire has me struggling to do vocals while Cannibal Crops has vox from Perforated Limb vocalist. In the pipe line is my HINDI DEATH METAL project called SHAITAAN KA GHANTA (The Devil's Hour) which is a tribute to RAMSEY BROTHERS school of Indian Horror. That's gonna happen hopefully in the coming months and its gonna be cheesy and sleazy.

Like I said it all began in 1985 and ever since I have been influenced by and inspired by several genres and sub genres of music. I am very passionate about heavy metal and all my projects reflect the passion I have had all these years and will continue till I die.

Q 4. I had once collaborated with you for a song and I was totally amazed at the promptness you showed, the music was in my inbox the same day I showed you the lyrics. The song was based on Egyptian king Tut-ankh-amun. You added a few elements of Thrash and Old School and made it sound just the way I imagined it to. Is this the same with all your compositions or does the great Metal Farmer sometimes have to redraw everything 'cause it didn't sound the way it should?

Pritham :  Ha Ha first I am not great, just average. Second, yes I love collaborating with various musicians when I do have the time to spare . The thing is I am not really a perfectionist! I don't even consider myself talented, so I am pretty happy with whatever music I compose at first. Of course there are moments when I think "I could have done that better" , but that's something I try not to bother about too much, 'cause then every song I have ever composed can be re done and perfected! I always try to keep every track, straight forward, simple and very Old School!

Q 5. Shifting from the musical part, can you share something about Pritham D'souza the farmer and the photographer?

The Farmer : Having studied agriculture and specialization in Horticulture, whatever I learnt came pretty handy when I began experimenting with crops and cropping patterns in my fathers 45 Acre property in Mangalore.

I also belong to the first batch in India to be trained in HYDROPONICS - that's the science of growing crops without soil.
Our farm was short listed among 10000 farms in Karnataka and selected under "Most progressive farm" category by the state govt. I have conducted over 20 workshops educating farmers over sustainable organic farming and integrated farm management practices.
My agri blog, which also backs up as a online database for farming gets over 200 hits everyday and I have even been asked to present a TV Show on farming and come live on AIR (All India Radio)
The vegetables from my farm have been to mega stores like MORE STORE, SPENCERS and SPAR

Photography : Started just by chance. I first invested in a decent digital camera to archive my farming photos and only after I started getting good at randomly clicking pictures, I decided to save and seriously invest in a good DSLR and glass.

My pics have been featured twice in "The Best This Month" on a site called picturesocial which is something like facebook for photographers and 2 of my albums were the most viewed for the months of June 2011 and August 2011 among over 6000 albums.

I specialize in macro, landscape, events and candid photography. I hate people who pose with their fake smiles just to look good in a photo.

Q 6. Now coming back to music again, unlike most guitarists, you don't use a pick, rather you prefer playing with your fingers. How difficult is it to play something like Heavy Metal without a pick, as we all know this genre deals with a lot of riff changes and dead-accurate techniques.

Pritham : I picked up playing the guitar when I was about 10 years old. I had my brothers box guitar to practice when I was younger, but my darned tiny fingers could barely do anything on the fret board and being totally self taught, no one really showed me how to hold a pick. I tried and tried but in the end just threw it away and decided to just play with my fingers.
Playing metal is pretty tough, especially the shredding bits. I have had bleeding finger nails and lesions on my finger tips so many times when I was young it looked pretty awful. But practice makes perfect or in my case "not even close to perfect" . But you don't really need a guitar pick for all those crazy ass techniques. I can play arpeggios and string skip with just my fingers just as easily as a 7 year old kid can :P

Q 7. You are a regular at the Underground Metal Scene in Bangalore, you have been in the scene for sometime now, so according to you how has the scene evolved from the days of Dying Embrace to bands like Culminant or Bevar Sea?

Pritham : Yes I am pretty fortunate to have been around for a long time now and Bangalore should be credited for giving us India's very first extreme metal band in DYING EMBRACE which was formed in 1991. But the metal scene in Bangalore (like the rest of India) is pretty much divided into 2 factions. The Old School and the Gen Next. The former has bands churning out pretty brutal and even minimalist underground music and has its roots in the metal scene that was seen in the early to mid 80's( not the glam and commercial pop metal thankfully). The new breed is mostly worried about setting trends, looking cool and are more 'image conscious'. So even though they are truly gifted musicians, music here has taken a back seat while they constantly barf out generic music and are adding to the 'sea of generic bands' that are already out there.
I find a lot of promise and hope in newer bands like CULMINANT and BEVAR SEA which don't compromise on music and play a lot of old school stuff.

And that's why i just love attending underground scenes 'cause the music is just meant for like minded individuals who believe in the music they create and are happy that they can connect with a few hundred people rather than sell out and have 5000 fans on Facebook who just added them 'cause they were asked to!

Q 8. It is a trend currently to form a Metal band, every Tom, Dick and Harry has a Metal band these days as I can see, but the fact is some just don't know the genre that well and start messing up with the very essence of the genre. Your views on this.

Pritham : Most kids these days form a band just 'cause 'its so cool to be in one'. I personally think , everything that needs to be said has already been said in the 70's and every sub genre of metal has already been created in the 80's. Everythings done. Nothing new to offer. Some of the newer bands are so extreme and fast that they sound like a washing machine on speed and even the washing machine makes better music! They have the talent but lack the soul.

If someone really wants to get into western music, I tell them to start listening to blues, jazz and rock bands of the 50's to the 70's, simply 'cause they were the founders and fore fathers of what we hear today.

I am pretty cool with new bands 'experimenting' as long as they know what they want to achieve. Its pretty crazy for a band to have so many genres of music crammed in one song, that it makes me wonder if they are doing this for the music they love, or just trying to show off how good they are with their instruments. If u wanna show off ur virtuosity, I suggest upload your guitar and drum videos on youtube and share on facebook and be happy with all the "LIKES" and comments you get.

Q 9. Your views on India producing quality International acts given the current scenario

Pritham : India is right now producing QUANTITY international acts instead of quality. Of course, there are very good bands here in India but there are shit loads of shitty generic bands as well and its the latter that keeps hogging the limelight. I don't think the situation is ever going to improve 'cause everyone wants a piece of the pie and I am talking of Instant Stardom. True, there are struggling bands which never get to see the light of day and then there are the wannabe bands who seem to be playing at every metal fest or concert in the country.

That's where Underground fests like TREND SLAUGHTER come to the rescue by providing a platform to those less fortunate but equally talented bands that DONT SELL OUT or compromise on their music. And even though its an underground event, its got International bands performing every year and thanks to the Internet (yes it also has alternate uses apart from Porn) and social networking sites, nothing remains local anymore. More and more people are supporting such movements and its definitely a good sign. SUPPORT THE UNDERGROUND, the mainstream doesnt need support 'cause its already mainstream!

Q 10. Last question for the day, the future of Metal Farmer. Do we see a full-fledged album or maybe a few live shows in the near future?

Pritham : I dont think my music is worthy of a release, especially on CD, will anyone in their right sense buy my music??(Laughs). But i will continue to make music without any commercial interests in mind. I was introduced to Baber Sheikh of Dusk (By Sandesh Shenoy of Cyclopean Eye Productions) which is regarded as Pakistan's answer to Opeth and he was keen to re do my Obire Diem project and add vocals. Even if it happens its going to be a one off thing.

I am too tied up with work now (I am Executive Manager at Manjusri Gardens, one of the largest Organic farms in Karnataka) and dont know when I will be able to perform on stage. At least not in the immediate future (That's the whole point of being a recluse right?). But I will be covering a lot of gigs with my photography. As for my future, well, will tell you tomorrow.