Neil D’ Cruz ‘Cruize’ and Irfan Omar ‘Charlie’ are two hardcore rockers who joined forces in 2009 to make music. They formed Nikotin; a rock band that now has six members and is thriving in the UAE rock scene. Tempo caught up with the band…
THE MEMBERS
Neil D’Cruz, 32, Indian – Lead Vocals
Cruize is a major sci- fi enthusiast and spends most of his free time gaming online. He also loves anything tech and photography related.
Irfan Omar, 23, Pakistani – Guitars / Backing Vocals
Charlie enjoys working out, gaming, playing sports and producing music.
Rohith Joseph, 24, Indian – Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals
Joe joined the band in 2011. He loves Japanese Manga comics and dinosaurs.
Vineet Mohandas, 27, Indian – Bass
Vineet has been a part of the band since 2012. He enjoys gaming and sports.
Roystan D’souza, 24, Indian – Drums
Roystan joined the band this year. He enjoys hiking, basketball and travelling.
Rohan Kamath, 22, Indian – Keyboards
Rohan joined the band early this year and is the band’s youngest member. He loves poker, gaming and collecting music.
FORMATION
“We chose the name ‘Nikotin’ because all we’ve ever wanted to do is produce the kind of music that keeps you coming back for more!”
Nikotin’s first major gig was at the Dubai Autodrome race pits in February 2009. It was then that Cruize and Charlie decided to never look back and commit all the way. In 2011 Joe came on board, as he had previously been performing with the band at many of their previous live shows. Soon, with the help of musician friends, Nikotin was performing regularly at local venues and starting to build a fan base. Recently, the band made their debut performance at the Middle East Film and Comic Con symposium in Dubai.
STUMBLING BLOCKS
Although the band had numerous high-profile shows there were troubled waters along the way. The band saw the departure of three of its original members (Dirty, Mr. P & Psycho) due to creative differences and for some time the future of Nikotin looked uncertain. It was especially difficult as the band had also just begun working on its debut album.
Nikotin’s biggest challenge was finishing the first record ‘Panodrama’ as they had to self fund the production. In spite of an incomplete line-up Cruize, Charlie and Joe moved forward with the project, and with help from producer Elvis Garagic, they are happy to announce that the debut record is almost complete. “We are very grateful to be working with Elvis at one of the best production studios in the city, Sound Struck Studios and can’t wait to finally give our fans a taste of what they’ve been eagerly waiting for,” said Cruize.
Nikotin can be found on
www.nikotinmusic.com
facebook.com/nikotinmusic
@Nikotinmusic
youtube.com/nikotinmusic
By Sanah Chauhan
