Star Talks: Advaita

Advaita is an eclectic music group from New Delhi India . They borrowed their name from an ancient Indian philosophy, which means Non-Duality. Since the group was formed, in 2004, Advaita has steadily grown to become one of the most respected acts on the Indian music scene. 


Arindam Saikia from Assam had a brief talk with the band members Abhisek & Anindo! Read more below...




Arindam Saikia: Hello there Abhishek and Anindo. Greetings from Unholy Maunder. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

So why don't you tell us a little about your band's line up?

Abhishek Mathur: Well our line up is an interesting mix in terms of the musical backgrounds and tastes of the members. Some guys have grown up listening to hard rock and later also electronic music, while others come from a more blues jazz vibe and of course three of our guys are from traditional Indian Classical music families. But we learn from each other and try and work as a team and that’s really the key for us.

AS: That an interesting line up you got there! The name “ Advaita” sounds pretty spiritual!  How did you all end up with the name Advaita? Has the name had any meaning in your life that it was chosen as the name for this band?

Anindo Bose: The name Advaita was given by our ex guitarist Aditya, he was quite heavily into spirituality and the advaita concept that time, and when he explained the meaning to us, it seemed very apt for a band name, since our vision for the band from the beginning has been to focus on the oneness of the sound and keeping the importance of the song above the individual, the name Advaita gives us this meaning and we give Advaita its meaning as well, hence the name Advaita, and with time the meaning has just become more and more solid and grounded.


AS: So it seems like all of you have grown into this name. How and when did all this start?

AM: Back in 2004 various guys on the music circuit in Delhi from bands like Friday the Thirteenth, Incognito and Artistes Unlimited got together and wanted to make a new kind of sounding band which would incorporate the melodic intricacy and meditativeness of Indian Classical music and merge it with the spaciness and psychedelic character of the kind of soul based rock music we were into. We started jamming on a few tracks, some others were worked on in home studios. But straight away it felt fresh and exciting. Since then a few line up changes have happened but the essential feel and sound of the band was established from then itself.

AS: So it was all kind of random music coming together! That’s sleek. What makes this band stand out from others? Is it the music or the members?

AB: The bands speciality is in its song writing and the ensemble like quality to its sound. We've been complimented by fans across the country and from international audiences as well about our song writing and how smoothly we present Indian classical melodies/raags through the medium of western harmony and rhythm. It’s not been easy though, it’s taken a few years to be able to get comfortable with it but it’s certainly not the end, there’s so much to learn and the sound is always evolving. We have musicians from varied musical backgrounds, be it from the traditionally trained Hindustani classical, or from self taught. And some who've had formal training as well. Even within that everyone has different influences and styles, but eventually it comes to a meeting point and we concentrate on making soulful music.

AS: Well that’s true. They say any music coming from the heart is a true self expression of the soul within. But you got to say having so many interesting people in band is bound to be really enjoyable. Mind sharing any funny little incident with your band members that others don't know about? 

AM: We're quite a goofy bunch so funny things keep happening, especially when we go out of town for shows. Most of these revolve around our classical singer Ujwal who is a very well behaved soft spoken boy at home who comes from a family of classical musicians, but the minute we leave Delhi, his alter ego comes out and he entertains us with his made up pop songs which he sings on a loop till the rest of us have gone completely mad.   

AS:  About the gears you are currently using?

AB: Currently using Gibson and Fender Electric Guitars (TC pedals, Full tone drive pedals etc) Cort and Yamaha Acoustic guitars, Ibanez Bass, Tabla, Sarangi (for effects we use laptops), Tama Drum Kit, Kurzweil and Yamaha Keyboards, Maudio Axiom Controller Keyboards(with laptops for additional sounds and effects).  We are endorsed by Labella strings so we use them for all our stringed instruments.

AS: Whats makes your gigs so special?

AM: I think people like watching our shows because it’s exciting to see how the music we make is actually being executed. If you hear it on a CD it’s all one sound, but with eight of us there is a lot going on in the arrangement so that’s always one of the reasons our fans like watching us live even more than they like listening to us on CD. We also keep trying to innovate with new versions of songs and there are some songs where there is some improvisation happening on the spot so there is an element of risk - although this is something we feel we can do more of. We also have grand plans to make the lighting in the shows trippier so the experience can be more fun for our audiences.

AS: What has been the turning point in your career?

AB: There have been various turning points in our career it’s hard to pin point just one event. The opening performance at the SAARC festival was very special, the album launch was again very special, the UK and Singapore tour were special and we learnt so much on tour, the recording with Coke studio India and MTV Unplugged recently were again very special...and they brought us into the TV world.

AS: A little sneak peek into the band’s future?

AM: Presently we are finishing work on our second album which should be out in November - and then just a lot of touring and making the live shows better and better. We have also been approached by some promoters for international tours so that’s also on the cards. Apart from this we'll keep writing new material, and trying new things. 

AS: So what do you think about the current scenario of music in India.?

AB: These are good times to be in, things have changed a lot over the past decade, bands and audiences have come a long way. Covers are no longer the criteria, originals are the key. More and more people are getting into music and with the help of internet it’s become easier to spread the music and generate an audience... there are more venues for bands and music as a career option looks more and more viable, having said that its very important to find your space and to be genuine and honest about what you do and what you make. There are music platforms on TV promoting independent music and radio time which further helps promote bands.  There can still be a lot more resource and time given to bands to really help the scene, but then the commercial industry is far too big to compete with, one should rather co exist and hope to get more support from sponsors..

AS:  That was very nice knowing about the current status of music in India. It is nice to see that many people are allowing music to be heard by the mass and making it a stable line as a career. Lastly your fans from northeast and all over India would love to hear from you. Anything you want to say to them?

AB,AM: We just want to say to all the music lovers in the north east how much we admire and look up to the passion for music in that region and that we would love to play for audiences there. So far we have only played one show in Guwahati in the north east but we really want to play in Shillong, Darjeeling, Aizwal and all those other amazing and beautiful places. I would also love to see more bands from the north east to come and play in Delhi where the music scene is really thriving right now.