Rock and raaga

With a potpourri of rockers, metal heads, pop and deck stars, razzle-jazzies, and lovers of all things classical – it’s safe to say that Bengaluru is a melting pot of music. In this milieu rises a band that will probably speak loud to those that enjoy their share of Bollywood nights. After belting out their share of fusion and Bollywood covers, Lamhe is now set to give their fans a taste of their original as they ring in their single, Manzar later this week.

Their story unfolds just like in the movies. “We were all roommates in college and our course was nearing its end. We didn’t want our friendship to too,” explains their lead vocalist from the city, Sai Keshav, about the band that has stuck on for over four years after their stint at Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music. “The only thing that held us together was music and we decided to form a band,” he says. His young band consisting of Himanshu Gautam on the guitars, drummer Saish Gaikwad, Shantanu Sairam on the bass and keyboardist Abhijith RS initially formed an English rock band called Intense Voltage, even performing without a bass guitar at their first show, “But we soon realised that our soul and taste of music was completely different,” says Saish on eventually finding voice in Hindi music and even setting up a studio called Waveform Studios in the city. The band says that their families have been immensely supportive and all bond well with each other adding to the positivity that shines through their songs.

With half the band being sound engineers, getting creative technically and musically to develop a sound of their own was a piece of cake. “AR Rahman has been a common inspiration to all of us and the subject of our songs revolve around love, inspiration, hope, friendship and spirituality,” says Shantanu.

A favourite at college festivals and with their renditions of Tum Hi Ho (Aashiqui), Maahi Ve (Highway) and Kabhi Jo Badal Barse clocking over one lakh hits on YouTube, this young band of 20-year-olds taps into audiences at live gigs and are now all set to release their brand new original, Manzar. Initially intended to be released as an album and penned down by their close friend, Koustub Pare, “The song follows a cute love story of a boy whose proposal is rejected but his hopes are regained when the girl asks him to meet her again,” says an excited Abhijith. The video that also features the band playing live was incidentally directed by the actress’s 15-year-old brother, Mandeep Singh, who is a 10th Grader at Ryan International School! “We like to keep the group small and work hard,” says Himanshu, adding that the group is a house of myriad talent in itself – Shantanu is an artist while Himanshu himself dabbles in photography and videography aiding the band’s cause of self-sustainance. “We all try and learn each other’s instruments too and we practice a lot – there’s no greater happiness than realising that you are better than your yesterday self,” he smiles.