Interview with Queens Tampon

 

I had the chance to interview an incredible rising band from Pune, India. Queens Tampon. They’re bold, honest, and bringing a fresh, genre-bending sound to the indie scene. From their unique name to the meditative depth of their debut single Flying Bird, this duo has a lot to say and even more to create. Here’s what they shared with me about their journey so far:

1. Can you introduce yourselves and tell us how Queens Tampon came together as a band?

Mohana: Me and my bandmate Ashish met first at an open mic and surprisingly we both covered a Beatles song, that is how we first connected. Our common taste in music plus the love we have for the same bands led us to become a cover band and we started doing professional gigs around the city and sharpening our skills. This was in 2023. People had told me to start focusing on original music as they deeply admired my vocals , so it was in my head for a while. 

2. What’s the story behind choosing the name “Queens Tampon” for your band?

Mohana: This idea was by Ashish, pretty funny story. He tried keep this as a name for a cover band. But it didnt seem apt. When we sat down made our first song it was clear that we need to keep Queens Tampon as our band name, because that’s how we work together. The logo of Queens Tampon is a tampon which is flowing with a Rainbow stream, that’s how our songs feel like inside to someone who would listen to the song.

3. Your debut single, “Flying Bird,” was recently released. Can you tell us what inspired the song?

Mohana: Oooh, interesting story. We started with an initial guitar riff that was going on and on in my mind, one night I kept playing it, Ashish felt it was interesting and added to the music riff, we didn’t stop till we finished the entire demo and that’s the story of how the music came to life for the song. Once we heard the completed demo, it brought the feeling of flying up and down like the analog waves, so I came up with the lyrics, which I myself was going through at the time, it’s like going on a deep meditation where you travel worlds and coming back to our normal routines. 

4. How does “Flying Bird” reflect your band’s sound and musical style?

It comes across initially as a rock genre, progressive and psychedelic rock. Starts off acoustic, leads us into a bit of psychedelic rock and comes back to acoustic again 😌 

 A pretty unique sound on its own really. 

5. What message or feeling do you feel want your listeners to take away when they hear “Flying Birds”?

It’s like a deep meditation that’s starts off nice and mellow and takes you deep and deeper into a beautiful space, it gets your vibrations high, tugging into your heart as you keep moving into the song. ‘Ecstatic’ would be the feeling in a single word.

6. Can you walk us through the process of creating and recording “Flying Birds”?

Ashish: In terms of the actual process, we started with an initial riff that was going on in Mohana’s mind for a long time. She was playing it over and over again, I felt it was  interesting and added more chords to it, the song was lacking a guitar solo, so my rock brain made a guitar solo. We wanted the song to be like a mountain , to start

Low and soft but then to get higher and louder and then to come back to Earth again and ending with the same chord but on 2 guitars with an octave difference. 

7. Did you face any challenges while creating your debut single? How did you overcome them?

Mohana: The main challenge we faced was how long we took from the recording the demo till the final release. But it is all worth it.

8. Are there any specific artists or genres that have influenced your music and the direction of Queens Tampon?

Mohana: For me it’s definitely the influence of rock music and country music that’s helped to try out the initial riff, The Beatles, Nothing but thieves, 3WW are a huge inspiration for me.

Ashish: Men I Trust, Lou Reed, Simon and Garfunkel

9. How does the song “Flying Bird” fit into the larger vision or direction of your future music?

For us It’s all about writing great music and free flow of creation. Authentic flow of creating music with harmonies and evoking emotion through music is our biggest vision, we followed the same  with flying bird and will follow with our future music as well.

10. What has the response from your fans been like since the release of the single?

Since we are a brand new artist band, we are slowly building our fan base. With our debut release Flying Bird we are already seeing a great response on how people are liking our music. They are finding it unique fresh, annd minimalistic, especially with the lead portions and the initial riff. Happy and grateful to say that we have a lovely fan base with super fans already :)

11. Can fans expect more music from Queens Tampon soon? What’s next for the band after “Flying Birds”?

Yes, we are already working on our upcoming release that will be released in the next couple weeks. It’s a completely different sound from Flying Bird, one thing you can expect is great bass and instrumental guitar work. We are excited about it. There are many more demos lined up already, planning to release an EP by the end of this year!

12. How do you feel about performing live? Do you have any memorable live experiences you’d like to share?

Yes! We do! We have performed flying bird when it wasn’t released and it went great. Other than that we have performed a couple cover gigs which have been amazing to say the least. Our recent cover gig with an alt rock set saw a great response from the audience. We were in our element on the stage and absolutely enjoyed and loved every part of the gig. It was full of energy ☺️

13. What are some of the most exciting things about being a band in Pune, India’s music scene?

Pune is home to so many wonderfully versatile indie artists, all talented and super skilled. The music community is very supportive, kind and amazing here and it was our luck that we got to start from here. 

14. What’s the songwriting process like for Queens Tampon? Is there a specific approach or dynamic within the band when writing music?

For us it’s all about the flow and the mood when we play our instruments. We have always started with creating music first and the lyrics come in. We love this creative process and will continue to do the same for our future music too. 

15. Do you have any dream venues or festivals where you would like to perform in the future?

Yes! Definitely Coachella, Lollapalooza, Rockaplast, Zomaland and a festival in the woods 🌲

16. What are your long-term goals for Queens Tampon? Where do you see the band in the next few years?

We definitely see ourselves releasing albums and singles in the next few years, touring around the world and dominating the charts. We also want to start making vinyls for our music. To get more people to listen to our music, that’s give the most happiness 💖

17. If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

Men I Trust, Trisha J , Cigarettes after Sex

18. Is there anything about Queens Tampon that fans might not know yet? Any interesting facts or behind-the-scenes details you’d like to share?

 Me and Ashish are a couple. 

Queens Tampon is just at the beginning of their journey, but their passion and creativity already shine through. With a growing fanbase, more music on the way, and a deep love for the process, they’re definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Let me know what you think of Flying Bird, and feel free to tag or recommend other indie artists we should spotlight next!