It is something to play music for the love of it and something else to create music by making use of every part of the instrument. Maybe that’s what made young Dhruv Visvanath one of 30 Great Guitarists under 30 Â by Acoustic Guitar Magazine, alongside guitarists like Ed Sheeran, Laura Marling and Newton Faulkner, who is a personal favourite of Dhruv. The multi instrumentalist, composer, singer, songwriter and producer was in Hyderabad to perform at NH7 Weekender. . Dhruv was a child prodigy who began his musical journey at the age of 7. He was introduced to music by his mother, an artist, when she enrolled him and his brother for piano classes. “That is the only art connection to my genes. But dad kept the home musically filled with records and cassettes of western music. I loved the idea of music charging me up, while I was too young to distinguish, I must have picked the right notes for myself,” says Dhruv.
So where did the guitar come in? He laughs, “I coaxed my friend to teach me the guitar and once I knew the coordination, I started playing it as an extension of my own musical self.”
Having performed in Shillong and Hyderabad, Dhruv is unwilling to make a comparison. “It is not easy. While the response was good in both cities, the crowds were different. The crowd in Hyderabad is very engaging and sort of clear about who or what they want to listen to. This was my second performance in the city and I enjoyed myself along with the crowd.” Despite years of experience with stage performances, Dhruv says he’d be lying if he said he doesn't feel butterflies in his stomach each time he goes on stage.
What inspires Dhruv to create his own music? “Human emotions and how people feel and interact with each other,” he says. From writing for himself , he went on to form Dhruv Visvanath and Trio (DVT) along with Amar Pandey (Bass), Ishaan Gandhi (Drums) and Ashwin Nayar (Electric Guitar).
What’s noteworthy about Dhruv’s music on the guitar is the way he creates vibrations and let’s the music with each strum linger on while he continues. Dhruv who has titles like the ‘Guitar Spanker’ and ‘One man Band’ is still waiting for the ‘Master of One’ title. “I guess the fact that I play the guitar as an extension of myself, makes it different,” he says.
