The name Indian Ocean was suggested by Sen's father in 1990. Shaleen Sharma was taken on as the drummer, and Indrajit Dutta and Anirban Roy as bassists. The band recorded a demo, with the help of Sen selling his electric guitar to raise the required money. The tape was 45 minutes long and consisted of 7 songs, all recorded in a single day. Despite the rushed recording, the quality of the demo tape impressed HMV and they were offered an album deal.