If you're expecting a Christmas set from Bryden-Parth this year, think again! The band, which will take the stage at Opus this weekend, will give audiences just what they expect at a Bryden-Parth gig - good ol' pop amidst the rising, city-wide crescendo of carollers!
Bryden Lewis and Parth Chandiramani first met when they were both touring with the Raghu Dixit Project, back in 2012. Both musicians came from vastly different backgrounds - Parth has been training in Indian classical music for nearly 15 years. Bryden, on the other hand, was a known face in the city's choir and a capella circuit and the acclaimed frontman for Slain.
Bryden-Parth gig
"We would play together now and then, although we weren't thinking about doing anything with it at the time," said Lewis. "My music had a lot of Western influences - I was interested in choirs, guitars, the bass and the drums. Even so, the people who heard us together felt we had promise." They decided to take a chance and uploaded a video on Youtube three years ago - "It was a Samjhawa medley, I barely remember now because we weren't expecting to go viral or anything," Lewis laughs.
Go viral they did, however and three years later, Bryden-Parth has an act quite unlike any other in the city. The lineup includes guitars, a ukelele, bouzouki, saxophone, drums and percussion, along with an 11-member choir. "Singing in choirs is an old influence, one that I've always wanted to incorporate in my music," he says. The band does popular songs, Bollywood, mainly, apart from a smattering of English songs as well.
They have, over the years, taken Youtube by storm as well, with over six million views and 100,000 Subscribers on their channel. "It's very tempting to upload lots of content, but something we stay away from," says Lewis. "It's important to stay organic, even if it's the wrong way of doing things in the age of social media! There's a lot of artistry involved in what we do and I don't want to compromise on that!"
The gig at Opus is a significant one, for it was here that they played first Bryden-Parth gig three years ago. "Much has happened since, but this is full circle for us!"
