A sound experiment

Brothers Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash are on a new high as they gear up to launch their experimental album, Everything Is Everywhere. Not only this, but the sarod players have also composed music for a version of Rabindranath Tagore's play, Raktakarabi. The duo speaks to CS about their latest work and their father sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan:


Who: Ayaan and Amaan Ali Bangash
What: Talking about experimenting with music
Where: In a Juhu hotel

Ayaan: We are very kicked about the album because it's a new concept for us. It is very rare for instrumental musicians like us to do a full album with a songwriter-singer. We finished recording the album last year, but there was a lot of post-production work so it took some time. With people opening up to newer genres of music, we hope to get a good response.

Amaan: Carrie Newcomer is a very talented folk singer. It is the first time we are working with a mainstream American artist. We had a lovely time in Bloomington, Indiana, where we recorded us. It is a quiet little town with a lot of natural beauty. For a few days, it was only us, a lot of music and some food in a recording room. We even performed together at the Lotus Art Festival in Bloomington.

Ayaan: Other than the album, we also composed the music for a version of Rabindranath Tagore's play Raktakarabi last year. The play has a very interesting theme of the tussle between man and machine. We used a lot of traditional Tagore based ragas and songs in that venture. Though we weren't very familiar with Tagore's works, we read up the English version of the play, The Red Oleander (Raktakarabi).

Amaan: Yes, it was a totally different experience for us. What we like about West Bengal is that even the common man there is artistically inclined. Every child is taught some form of art or the other. So, there are some very talented musicians, singer and artists in the city. But the biggest issue is that very few of them are willing to step outside Kolkata to give a bigger platform to their talent.u00a0

Ayaan: It's surprising how Father's Day and Mother's Day have become big events in India. For us, every day is Father's Day. Of course, it's a blessing to have your dad as your guru. As we grew older, dad became more of a friend than a father. In fact, we have always had a pretty open relationship.

Amaan: I have a clear memory of my first concert with dad. I was ten years old, and we were in USSR, now Russia. Right from preparing for the show to hearing the audiences' reactions, everything was so memorable. The concert at Carnegie Hall was also a special one as Ayaan and I were pretty young, and we were lucky to get the opportunity to perform there.