There’s so much happening in Ampersand that you worry it might be too busy, with too many cooks spoiling the broth. Instead, the debut album by Delhi-based jazz fusion duo Adil Manuel and Vasundhara Vidalur, who go by the name Adil & Vasundhara, manages to hold its own, and how. Sheer genius plays a role, with music bigwigs like Louiz Banks, Ranjit Barot and Loy Mendonsa lending their sound. With strong narratives, passion and a distinct sound, the duo says this is just the beginning. More from them:
A little on the album
Ampersand is a collection of 10 urban stories. All our content is inspired by city life, the attitudes and philosophies of a typical Indian city, how it is to be an independent artist - within society and at the margins of a music industry that is Bolly-dominated.
Why the urban focus?
We are English speaking city people who have grown up internalising everything Indian and non-Indian. We wanted to represent our Indian realities, our history, our stories of displacement, our power cuts and traffic jams, our din and soot, our Indie-musician experiences in a non-kitschy way.
More on the tracks
Parentheses and Creek Funk.
Parentheses is a song about where an artist finds himself within society. It is about the judgement wrapped in rehearsed praise and politesse that one has to deal with on a daily basis after one is associated with a profession as unstructured as music. Creek Funk, inspired by the reek of the Versova creek in Bombay, equates it to the behaviour and attitudes of a lot of people running record labels.
With so many collaborations, were there any creative differences?
There were no creative differences as such. We have an immense amount of respect for them. Each of our collaborators has brought a very special flavour and a distinct energy to our songs. A dream collaboration. We really want to work with Shubha Mudgal. We are both great fans of hers and we love her as a person.
Priced at Rs 150.
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