Singer, song writer, composer and music producer, Aditya Jassi, 38, is living his dream. He was recently selected as an official endorsee of Fender Acoustasonic guitars in India - the only other major Indian endorsee being Ehsaan Noorani. “It feels absolutely amazing, but the feeling is yet to sink in. It is every musician’s dream to play a Fender,” says an elated Jassi. Jassi owes all his success to his schools (Air Force Bal Bharati, New Delhi and Welham Boys School, Dehradun) which, he says, instilled in him the love for sports, theatre and music. “My reason for learning the guitar was pretty simple.
I wanted to impress the chicks in the Girls’ School. But the more I practiced, the deeper I fell in love with guitars and with music in general.” Though Jassi was in his school and college band, he never harboured dreams of becoming a professional musician. He was studying Civil Aviation after school (he is a Private Pilot’s License holder), when circumstances forced him to let go of that dream. Disheartened, but not dejected, he completed BA (English) followed by a PG in Mass Communication from Delhi University.
He then started working in the private sector, but soon realised his heart truly belonged to music. In 2006, following the advice of his friend Dr Palash Sen (Euphoria), Jassi auditioned for FAME-X, a reality show telecast on Sony and SAB, and made it to the top 10. “My selection in ‘Fame X’ was the first major step in the industry. Two things happened post the show. One, I started learning classical music and two, I moved to Mumbai.” Talking about his Bollywood dreams, Jassi recalls, “I have slept hungry. I have walked from Lokhandwala to Bandra for a recording that paid me just Rs 3,500, because I could then either take the local or eat a `6 vada pao as lunch.
I chose the latter. When opportunities came, I grabbed them with both hands,” But the films didn’t do too well and neither did his music, which made Jassi go back to writing songs. In 2012, Jassi formed The Unplugged Project band with his friend Manish Gunthey. “I met Manish at a pub where he was hosting a Karaoke night. Soon, we started playing acoustic-duo gigs, and started getting bigger shows.
Later, we roped in legendary drummer Ashwani Verma, Vipin Sharma (bass guitar) and Elton Fernandes (saxophone). It is four years since we formed the full band and the journey has been an absolute hoot,” he says. Jassi has tried his hand at playback singing for films, and also worked on albums. But, it is performing before a live audience that gives him an adrenaline rush. “I thrive on the crowd’s energy. I love the chaos of a live gig, how you always have to be on your toes and focus on making things better if it starts to go downhill,” he says.
Writing music in Covid
Jassi says the pandemic experience has been a lot of fun. “I have spent more time with my parents, wife and kid in these four months than I did in a year. I saw my toddler grow in front of my eyes. I learnt some
new skills. I wrote many songs that are in the recording phase now, and I plan to release these once everything opens. It will come out as The Unplugged Project and there’s some solo stuff too. Further, I have been doing a plethora of virtual concerts for corporates and private clients.”