Clarity And Confidence Drive Motherjane's Exhilarating EP '111'

Drummer John Thomas, who has been part of the prog rock heavyweights since 1996, talks about lineup changes and metaphysical influences on their third record

- ANURAG TAGAT

KOCHI PROG ROCK veterans Motherjane's new four-track EP 111 gets its name from a bit of numerology and how this number often denotes the "presence of angels," as drummer and composer John Thomas puts it. "Some people say it's absurd shit and all that. But this [appearance of the numbers 111] started happening on a regular basis sometime back. We arrived at it that way," he says with a laugh.

Pronounced "triple one," the record has been in the works since 2014 and it deals with metaphysical subject matters, so Thomas felt it was befitting to get a symbolic title. "In another way, it also sounds like 'three,' which is apt because this is the third Motherjane record," the drummer adds.