We had a chat with Ananthaal about how they started their band , their concept , story behind their name and much more .
SNEHA RAMESH
We had a chat with Ananthaal about how they started their band , their concept , story behind their name and much more .
What brought you to the idea of starting a band , Clinton ?
I always have loved the idea of music with surprises . Bringing strong but otherwise disparate elements together in a song is something I ’ ve always loved doing . When I worked with Vijay Prakash and Bianca in Coke Studio at MTV , they both received so much acclaim for their respective renditions I got an idea from there and found myself thinking of combining these two distinctive vocal styles with my own . And if I could write music that was distinctly India yet global at the same time , then this was a good way to start . That ’ s how Ananthaal was born .
What is the concept of your band ?
Clinton : The concept of Ananthaal , for me , has been to make music that reflects accurately where the three of us are as artists at this point in our lives . And the telling of each of our stories unfolds in what each of us brings to the table as you listen to each song on the album . The album has many different shades , just like people do , so I think conceptually it ’ s a mirror to our souls as artists .
Why the name Ananthaal ?
Bianca : Well , Clinton actually liked the idea of Infinity and so we decided to build on that concept . We used that thought while designing everything , from our logo , our album cover , our CD inlay and even our first video , ' Inayat ' which was shot in Ladakh and because of the beautiful vastness of its landscape , it reinforced the idea .
Lyricist , Manoj Yadav mentioned the word ," ANANTH " which means “ Infinity ” and Clinton ' s wife , Dominique fused it with the word , “ Taal " which is “ Rhythm ” and this subsequently led to the coining of the word , “ ANANTHAAL "
Tell us a little more about the music you make ?
Vijay : It ’ s been in the making for many years actually ! I remember randomly jamming with Clinton during our advertising days . I guess all that gradually manifested into Ananthaal . While Clinton initially composes the song and makes a basic track for Bianca , and me , we add our creative ideas to the track during our vocal performance . We have recorded the songs together so there has been a cohesive approach on all songs . I guess that ’ s how a band is supposed to be .
You recently launched your new debut album in September . Could you brief us about the album and tell us how it was received by your fans ?
Bianca : The album is essentially ' Pop Fusion ' in nature due to its strong melodic hooks and merging of styles , mainly Vijayprakash ’ s Indian Classical background with our Western influences . We have been blessed to have the best musicians and lyricists in the industry collaborate with us on this album . Manoj Yadav , Amitabh Bhattacharya , Shellee , Siddhant Kaushal and Mohanrajan are the lyricists that have made these songs so meaningful and Gino Banks ( drums ) Sheldon D ’ Silva ( bass ) Pozy Dhar ( guitar ) and Beven Fonseca ( keys ) are our super talented musicians along with guest artists Dhruv Ghanekar , Embar Kannan and the legendary Louis Banks .
The album has been very well received so far with a lot of radio airplay and appreciation from the entire fraternity .
Could you tell us the contribution of each of the members to the band from a musical angle ?
Clinton : From a songwriting perspective , I wanted this album to be very collaborative in nature . My studio is usually my haven and it ’ s not unusual for me to lock myself in there for days when I ’ m writing all by myself for a film project . However I wanted to take a different approach purely because I really wanted all the three of us to feel like this album has a part of us in there . And so I would sketch out a very simple melodic idea sometimes , it would be as little as four lines or just a simple hook or a small opening verse , and I would whatsapp it to Bianca and Vijay and get their reactions . Sometimes they would add to it and send it back to me . Or if they liked the direction then we would meet a few days later in the studio and flesh it out . So by the time we approached the band we had very structured arrangement ideas in place , which we were all very comfortable with . The musicians then would add their bit of magic to the songs at rehearsal , and when we were all rehearsed and ready to record , we got into the studio and played together . We were all being recorded at the same time . That cohesive energy that you get when recording a song together just like as if you ’ re rehearsing in a jam room , is something else . The record has immediacy to it , which is largely due to the spontaneity of all the musicians feeding off each other ’ s ideas .
What inspires you all the most in making such good music ?
Bianca : We have shared a musical history with each other over the years so I feel like during the course of the creative process , you could say we inspired each other ’ s songwriting in a way . When you collaborate with someone that has different musical influences from you , its always challenging in the best way possible .
Even though we come from different musical backgrounds , we pretty much had the same goal collectively when it came to writing the material , which was to not limit our sound as far as possible and to keep it largely relatable to most people without forcing the fusion angle too heavily .
Which has been your best performance so far and why ?
Clinton : I think as a band we ’ ve only just begun . The Ananthaal tour is underway and I think we can confidently say – “ The best is yet to come ”.
Tell us about your upcoming projects .
Vijay : As Individual artists we all have a lot coming up … Clinton is busy composing for a couple of interesting movie projects and also regularly scores TV ads and his own live performances .
Bianca is busy with song recordings for a couple of films and she regularly gigs too . I am mostly occupied with my playback singing and shows and I am also currently judging few reality musical shows on the south Indian TV channels . But when talking about Ananthaal we as a band are currently busy on our promotional tour to various cities in India and also working on the videos for other songs in the album .
Clinton- you are going to be performing at the NH7 weekender this year . Are you excited about it ? What plans do you have ?
Yes , absolutely ! I ’ m very excited and I ’ m presenting “ Ananthaal ” and the music from the album . It ’ s definitely gonna be a treat for the fans in Bangalore when they see us perform with Gino , Sheldon Beven and Pozy . Would love to see all of you there .
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