BENGALURU: When singer/songwriter, Anirudh Ravi connected with his old mate and guitarist, Bharath Kashyap, in order to showcase his work, little did he expect the formation of an acoustic band. On aturday, the duo along with the third member – of their newly-formed band, Cinema of Excess – Abheet Anand, who handles bass duties, will perform live. “We met through mutual friends and when Anirudh shared his work, I was blown away. The three of us went onto write songs which eventually grew into the band it is today,” says AnandStarted in 2017, the band includes Ravi on guitars and vocals, Kashyap on guitars and Anand on bass guitars. While Kashyap came from a family which was well-versed in the field of music, Anand was introduced to classical music from a young age through the flute. “Led Zeppelin has been my biggest inspiration for picking up the guitar,” says Ravi.
Prior to the coming together of the trio, Anand would perform with a string of outfits with likes of Haiku Like Imagination and Tangents. Kashyap also collaborated and performed with an extensive list of artistes such as Aabha Hanjura, Mahesh Raghunandan, Tejas and Khalid Ahmad, while Ravi was a part of erstwhile Indie band Inthenow.
In 2018, the band released their debut EP titled Bring Back the Sound which featured a distinct set of tunes and sublime lyrics. The album received an overwhelming response from critics and listeners. In July, Cinema of Excess announced a crowdfunding session in association with Oaf Records for their upcoming South East Asia Tour along with singer/songwriter Mahesh Raguhnandan, achieving 5.2 lakh of the proposed target. Speaking about their upcoming projects, Kashyap says, “We have a five-track EP and a couple of singles which we plan to focus on after the tour is completed. The music sounds fresh and we have experimented with new elements which add to the excitement.”
With the music scene in Bengaluru going through a tough time with a drastic decrease in venues and a lack of platforms for artistes, Anand emphasises on the need to organise and structure plans on a long-term basis. “The situation right now comes as a realisation for most musicians to organise themselves. One needs to change and evolve with time and situation. Live music is not the only manner of getting your work out there as a future-forward approach has to be taken.”
Cinema of Excess will perform at The Blue Room, Jayanagar on October 5, 8 pm.