Milan of East and West

The city is teeming with bands simply playing Hindustani and We­stern instruments together on stage, tagging it as fusion. Mu­­ch before the confused int­e­r­pretation of the genre took sh­ape, a Delhi-based ba­nd pioneered the fusing of elements in an organic way.

Almost 15 years later, the ei­g­ht-member outfit - Abhishek Ma­thur (gu­itar), Aman Si­ngh (dr­ums), Anindo Bo­se (ke­ys), Chayan Adhikari (vocal), Gaurav Chintamani (bass), Ujwal Nagar (Hindustani vo­cals) Mohit Lal (tabla) and Suhail Yusuf Khan (sarangi) - has released their first single in seven years. Advaita's January 2019 release, Milan, shows the evolution of its members as musicians, while keeping the authenticity intact.

(Clockwise from top left) Chayan Adhikari, Ujwal Nagar, Mohit Lal, Aman Singh, Anindo Bose, Suhail Yusuf Singh Gaurav Chintamani and Abhishek Mathur

The idea for this so­ng germinated in 2013, when the band trave­l­led to Palamp­ur. "We we­re in a ph­ase when we were discovering our own selves," says Na­gar. The audio of the so­ng has been recorded live in concert, made easier today with technological advancements. The setting has helped capture the vibe of the outfit.

The evolution of the members is evident when you give the track a listen. They've added percussion instruments, flute and new synthesizer while Adhikari, who had an acoustic sound has now incorporated electronic el­ements. "Every set of songs is a representation of who you are at that moment. We've all grown as musicians over the years," explains Bose.

How do they retain the es­sence of the sounds when all members are also working on different projects? "For all of us, we have to feel musically inspired to compose a song. It's not like eight seasoned musicians are seated and will compose a track. We compose music that comes to us naturally. Each member responds to the other on a one-on-one basis. We don't think 'what is the best way to feature eight people'.

We are glad we were able to reconnect every time," says Bose. And seeing a band evolve together and stay intact is also a source of inspiration for today's set of younger musicians. While Bose is also working on new content for his duo with Pavithra Chari, Shadow & Light, Advaita is in the process of readying six more songs for release.

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