I was nagging my Indian “sistah” Juhi to suggest some amazing music from India. I mean, it has such a rich culture, and yet all I know about their music is what I hear from Bollywood and Krishna centres.
What she came up with succeeded to amaze me.
Advaita, the band of eight, was formed in 2004, and their name was inspired by ancient Indian philosophy Advaita Vedanta, which, as I understand it, suggest that we are all one and the thought itself that we are individuals is a mere illusion.
A Dvaita = Non dual or, in other words, ONE.
Their work is a conjunction of Western influences and classical school of Indian
1) Western vocals in English (Chayan Adhikari),
2) Hindustani vocals (Suhai Yusuf Khan, Ujwal Nagar),
3) Electronics (Abhishek Mathur, Arindo Bose),
4) Guitar (Abhishek Mathur, Chayan Adhikari),
5) Bass (Gaurav Chintamani),
6) Keyboards (Anindo Bose),
7) Drums (Aman Singh),
8) Tabla, Indian drums; percussions (Mohit Lal),
9) Sarangi, Indian string instrument (Suhail Yusuf Khan);
What Advaita attempts, to use their own words, is to “dwell into the very source, the fountainhead where music springs from, and discover something organically new. It is [..] a spiritual quest as much as an exploration into the world of music”
The feel of Advaita’s music is what I call “3 PM”, the darkest time of night when, if awake, you suddenly start thinking about such things as the sky above you, your purpose in life, the meaning of things… Use this opportunity and listen to them when the Sun goes down. Trust me, the experience is quite phenomenal.
My favourite pieces are “Mere Yaar”, “So Lost” & “Hamsadhwan” , but I love the video for “Rasiya” (stop motion technique!)
Download (read this before): “Grounded in Space” (2009)
Buy: amazon
