HYDERABAD: Trying to discover a new sound or one’s own melody takes them to many places. For the 27-year-old Aman Mahajan, it took him from Hyderabad to Boston back to Hyderabad and finally Bengaluru, with frequent visits to cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and so on.
A jazz musician who dabbles in other genres like folk, classical and electronic, his tryst with music began when he was a five-year-old learning the piano. “It was my music teacher who really opened my mind and my parents’ as well to the concept of music and taking it further than a hobby. That’s why I went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston.” The only other Indian kid on roll that year, Aman points out that the approach to music has vastly changed since and that there are many who are taking to it now.
Currently residing in Bengaluru where he has the freedom to meet and make music with a varied group of musicians, Aman will be coming back to his hometown this Friday to perform as a part of the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation’s (HWMF) five-years-concert series celebration.
Quite happy to find an excuse to come back, Aman hopes that one day it will be a city he can work from. “I need a place that has either venues and/or musicians. If there are venues, I can invite musicians over or if there are musicians, we can base ourselves here and travel to perform. But without one or the other, it becomes very hard,” he explains.
An alumnus of Hyderabad Public School, Aman still manages to tuck into his Hyderabadi soul through his music. One of his compositions is directly inspired by the city. “It’s titled Sitaphalmandi and is both a tribute to the city and a dog called Charlie. There’s also a blues called Load Shedding that’s very relatable to people here,” he shares.
Nevertheless, to expect a jazz musician to find the space to improvise in a city that largely lusts for the odd combination of filmi music and Urdu poetry is rather demanding.
Influenced by names like Trilok Gurtu (percussionist), Ornette Coleman (saxophonist), Randy Weston (pianist), Third World Love (jazz/world band) and Joni Mitchell (singer-songwriter) among others, Aman says that he has only just embarked on the journey to find his own sound after a rather rigorous pursuit of music academically.
Currently playing under the outfit Refuge, besides a few other projects, Aman will on Friday share stage with friends Matt Littlewood, Mishko M’ba and Jeoraj George who play the saxophone, bass and drums respectively.
“It’s a funny thing actually; I had watched Mishko play when I was 16. I would’ve never thought that I would one day be in a band with him!” he shares. Playing together as Refuge since May last year, the band plays compositions crafted by Aman as well. With various influences and Aman himself playing more than one genre, we ask him how he would best define their music.
“I would say ‘world jazz’ is the sound we’re going for. A friend of mine described the music as ‘pop jazz’ which means it’s accessible. It’s sometimes very raw, but always played in the moment; the emotion really seems to get through to audiences, which is the idea,” he explains matter-of-factly, adding that their name Refuge more directly applies to the music - “it’s intended to provide solace and give us a few moments to reflect, awaken understanding, and transcend self-imposed barriers.”
Having been a part of a dozen bands, starting from the Charminar Jazz Collective back in 2002, the key to Aman’s musicology is travelling, meeting people and making music. “When I came back from Boston, I spent some time going around cities and meeting musicians, introducing myself and letting them know I was open to collaborations. The idea was that years later, when they were looking for something new to do, they would remember me.”
While many indie musicians have made the natural progress to the film industry, besides doing their own thing on the side, the youngster says he may never do so. “I’ve always been disconnected from film music. The thought process is very different.” He makes his ends meet by teaching music and performing more gigs.
Refuge will be performing in the city on Friday at Vidyaranya School, Saifabad, at 7:30 pm. Passes will be available at the venue. The concert is being conducted in association with the school and the Goethe Zentrum besides HWMF. Refuge will also be touring, travelling to Pune on June 12 and following up Hyderabad’s performance with one in Bengaluru on June 14.