Dubai rockers Vin Sinners back with new album after two years

Veteran rockers Vin Sinners are no newcomers to the UAE rock music scene. The band, who had been a regular feature at local gigs between 2010 and 2017, took a two-year hiatus and regrouped in 2019. But they didn't take time to re-establish themselves and soon released two singles, following that up with an EP called The Trinity of Sin which was released earlier this month. We speak to Vin Nair, founding member and lead vocalist of the band about the The Trinity of Sin.
Tells us something about The Trinity of Sin.
Our new album comprises of work by several musicians. The recording was done in Dubai, India and Germany as our lead guitarist has a studio in Frankfurt (Oder). The Trinity of Sin is a diverse album and carries several influences from the nineties, but it has a more contemporary sound which is what we wanted to do.
What inspired the new record? Any Dubai connect?
Most of the lyrics were written during my years in Dubai and reflect on some of the things that have happened with me and how I responded to them - sometimes with aggression, fear or hope.
What's the must-listen-to track in the album?
From a natural flair and song writing perspective, I'd say that Saddled with the Memories is a great ballad. We enjoyed putting it together. To The Skies is also a powerful track that should interest a fresh set of listeners.
What's the reason Vin Sinners took a two-year break?
Priorities changed for some members in the band. I was involved with running Musicians United, a platform for local musicians. Tazz (guitarist) moved to Doha. Johan (bass) decided to pursue a career in EDM music, while Naveen (drums) was dealing with some personal stuff. I attempted to get some people on board to make it work, but I realised that a break would be better for all of us. I figured that we would see where everyone was later and then decide on what to do next.
How did the reunion happen?
One evening, guitarist Josh, drummer Thomas and I went over to our production engineer Irfan's place and unloaded a bunch of demos and takes that we had done between 2015 and 2018. There were at least 18 to 20 demos in various stages of completion. It was quite hilarious, because here we were with so much material in hand, but nothing close to a wrap. Nation 2.0 was the closest song and we decided to finish that track. The response to the song triggered a lot of interest and self-belief. It was released in May 2019. That was a turning point of sorts for us. All of a sudden, we wanted to move forward. We decided to release another single called Saddled with the Memories which garnered favourable reviews from friends and fans and on Twitter. We then decided to break up our compositions into three lots. The first one was an EP with one new song Hail Ya Sinners - Part III. The second one was a record with previously released singles and several unreleased tracks, and the third one would comprise the rest of the material that had been a work in progress for several years that we had hoped to release in early 2021, along with new versions of some of our popular songs, to commemorate 10 years of Vin Sinners. That was the main idea behind the reunion!
What happened to the band members during the break?
DJ Praful replaced Johan on the bass guitar, but he and I remained in touch putting together some ideas. Our guitarist Josh, who is based in Dubai, would come over often and we would put down some ideas. But we didn't have a concrete plan on what would happen next. We did have some guest members, but there was nothing concrete. It just didn't feel right. It was perhaps after Thomas Mielenz (drums) came on board and we signed up with Irfan that things started to take shape.
Who are the new band members?
DJ Praful Menon who played bass with the Indian metal band, Millennium, joined us. Then there is Josh who is a gifted composer. The other new members are Thomas Mielenz on drums, and lead guitarist Michael Schiller who is based out of Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.
What plans does the band have post the release of the album- promos, tours etc?
We don't have any tours on the roster at the moment, but we have a series of promos that are being worked for the album which is going to be digital for now. We also have some lyric videos and two music videos being worked on as we speak.
Music is being consumed very differently today, how does that impact Vin Sinners?
Well, it is very different from the time we started off which is just under 10 years ago. Today, through aggregators, we can get our music to a global audience in about 30 minutes. That's quite incredible. I remember the excitement when I saw our first record in the form of a CD in my hand, but I haven't bought a CD in over 5 years. Instead I've been building my vinyl collection again. Vinyl sales worldwide beat CD sales in 2019. Who knows, we just might have music on vinyl soon.
Where in Dubai can people catch Vin Sinners perform?
At the moment, our music is streaming on services like Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify, Anghami etc to name a few. As much as we would like to perform live, there are hardly any venues left that entertain rock bands that play original music. For now, we are enjoying the process of releasing material we have been working on. We have an LP ready for release in April.
 
michael@khaleejtimes.com