When Dhruv Visvanath picks up his acoustic guitar, it transforms into a sublime instrument. Strumming as he sings, the 25-year-old Delhi-based percussive guitarist is one of the few in the country whose performance makes him sound like an entire band playing.
Ahead of his concert in Bengaluru this weekend at Primal, the artiste chats about his journey, inspirations and why music means everything to him.
Teaming up with long-term friend Ajay for the gig, Dhruv promises an evening of alternate, acoustic rock. “It is going to definitely be something different to look forward to this time, when compared to how I do my songs solo. We will be playing songs from my previous album, Orion and my upcoming album. I hope to make people love singing along to songs they don’t know.”
At the end of the day, Dhruv says the gig will be one big hit. “The way I perform is a spectacle. It comes with a lot of passion and one thing I want from the audience is when they are sitting somewhere, at an unexpected location or going about their daily lives, they suddenly start humming one of my songs which is stuck in their head. That is the one thing I’d love to happen.”
Although he started his musical journey on the piano as a seven-year-old, Dhruv found his calling soon enough on the guitar. “I am self-taught; thinking of how it came to be all seems like a dream. I understood how to play a song and figured out things on my own. Then one day, I got bored of playing the guitar normally. So I found this other way of playing when I stumbled across some YouTube videos. In the process of doing that, I taught myself how to write music. The inspiration for writing music came from a much darker place – my father passed away when I was 16. I’ve grown from there musically.”
The result of that was his first EP Chronicles in 2011 – a collection of soulful finger-style, percussive tracks he dedicated to his father. Orion , released last year, is an eclectic mix of percussive, electro-acoustic and hard rock with jumpy riffs.
“The best way to describe my music is that it is something that sounds like many instruments but is actually one,” the youngster says.
Dhruv is the only Indian to be mentioned in Acoustic Guitar Magazine USA’s ‘30 Great Guitarists under 30’ in 2014. “I look at that as a massive milestone in my life. I look back at that moment and see it as a step to go forward. I went on a huge tour last year and am releasing another album, so I look at it as a boost to my creative endeavours. It is a space to grow from.”
He elaborates that he has seen an evolution in the way he makes music. “My music has grown. The guitar has allowed me to do that. I want to explore other sounds and sound bigger. That is something I am passionate about. I perform and play just one instrument – so my goal is to sound as big as possible.”
Where does he see his music taking him? “At the moment I’m looking forward to taking my music outside the country. My main priority is to see how the world takes to my music. I hope that I can also make music for movies and video games, which I love. I want to one day provide the soundtrack to an adventure or story that I would enjoy watching as well.”
At the heart of his music, Dhruv says is the desire to share his emotions. “When I started writing, I tried to use it as a means to explain the complicated feelings I was going through and the sense of grief and pain I had. Now, the music continues to stem from personal experience – my childhood, family and things that are close to me and inspire me. I find that it is quite easy to write about things I love. I would like to fill humanity with my music.”
What is on the bucket list for the virtuoso? Dhruv says getting a custom made guitar is on top of the list. “I also hope to play at the Royal Albert Hall in London; that is one of my biggest dreams. For me travel is important. So I hope my music will take me places.”
Catch Dhruv Visvanath live at Primal – The Bar, Koramangala, on December 22 from 9 pm onwards. Call 46218500.
