Guitarist, vocalist and producer Aditya Balani might have built his reputation as a jazz musician and co-founder of Delhi’s Global Music Institute, but much before that, he was actually in an alt rock band called Incognito. The band later morphed into a fusion band Advaita, now one of the most successful acts in the country. Balani remained close to his alt rock roots. The guitarist says over the phone, “Before I went to Berklee (College of Music), I was into alternative music. I wrote a lot of that kind of stuff.”
After a busy year with his folk duo Adi & Suhail and releasing three different albums in 2013, when he thought of releasing some of his alt rock material as a solo artist, he preferred an EP.
“An album is too big a project, so I took a few songs and worked on them. I’d rather have new material in shorter spans of time. That way, I can keep the content going.” The result is his new four-track EP titled Constants and Variables .
He says of his influences, “It’s not just alt rock, but more of alternative and indie.”
He name checks bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, Kings of Convenience and Local Natives as his playlist favourites. It’s only one track – ‘Primitive Thing’ – which originally started out as a jazz song and is now more in the alt space. “I just played around with the melody and the words and it made sense.” So that means it is pretty much for fans of the simple guitar, bass and drum sound, with a few catchy hooks.
“The initial process of writing is very organic, where it’s just me sitting with a guitar working on melody, lyrics and harmony, pretty much like a singer-songwriter would. Once the songs are ready I shift gears and sit down to arrange them, thinking about what kind of instrumentation, drum groove, bass lines I’m looking for. That is the process of bringing the song to life, much like what a music producer does. I enjoy shifting between these different roles.”
Aditya has already launched the EP with shows in Chandigarh and Kolkata so far, and makes his way to Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi. His band includes keyboardist/vocalist Tarana Marwah, bassist Amar Pandey and drummer Suyash Gabriel, members he’s recruited based on their strengths as live performers. He is also putting together new material for his set, along with revamping an old song called “Need My Time”, which was written in 2006.
Aditya says about playing in Bengaluru, “I love the city, the weather is great and I last played at NH7 Weekender last year. When I announced the EP, people from Bengaluru immediately messaged and asked when I was playing here. All my gigs here have been great so I’m excited.”
Aditya performs in town on October 11 at The Humming Tree at 9 pm
