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Basanti aur Rahza – a musical pair like a river shore

If her voice was like a river flowing freely off the course, he was a shore to keep her flowing.…

Basanti aur Rahza – a musical pair like a river shore

Basanti aur Rahza (Photo: Facebook)

If her voice was like a river flowing freely off the course, he was a shore to keep her flowing. Delhi-based electronic folk band – Basanti aur Rahza displayed such a magical bond on stage at the ‘Words in the Garden’, an art and literature festival held in the national capital on Saturday.

Vocalist Mahima Dayal Mathur with Azhar Anwar on guitar, known as Basanti and Rahza respectively, took the audience on a magical ride when they blended some of the poetic and folk work with the techno beats.

Talking to thestatesman.com exclusively on the sidelines of the event, the duo expressed how they feel performing live at such events and spoke on the rise of electronic music and their future aspirations with the evolving genre of music.

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“We need more live music like this,” said the bubbly girl Mahima, a writer-turned musician, who used to write with the pseudonym ‘Bawli Basanti’ (mad Basanti).

“We are looking for more musicians to collaborate for live music, to get more live sound on our set. Right now being a production showcase, with the music I produce, she sings live and I play a guitar live, we look forward to play with live percussion, more instrumentals,” added Ahzar, who revealed the logic behind Rahza as the reverse spelling of Azhar.

Mahima joined in, saying such art festivals make an artiste feel content with his/her performance. “At places like here, people listen. We are here to get heard. Every face I saw was actually figuring me out, my music and my movements with the rhythm,” she described further.

Mahima, on vocals and lyrics, draws inspiration from poets and singers from all verticals of time. On the windy afternoon at the Fountain Lawn of the India International Centre, the duo performed gripping titles ‘Sur ki gati’, ‘Rāz-e-ulfat chhupā ke dekh liyā’, by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a compilation of Shlokas to grace the art gathering.

It was a Tuesday night Karaoke in a bar, where the two met for the first time. “I had just come from the music school. We were both there for the Karaoke night. He was singing Black by Pearl Jam and we had a fight on the same song that I want to sing,” recalled Mahima.

“Somehow, we got to talking and started jamming. From our first song ‘Sun’ to a number of songs and shows we did together, time strengthened our bond. We’ve done a lot of shows now, we’ve played with Lucky Ali, besides other names, big names, small names, money, no money, everything has happened to us. Now we are on that phase when we know exactly how we are sounding and what we want to do in the time to come.”

With the rise of electronic music, the conventional instrumental music is moving towards a decline. However, the techno musician Azhar believes the conventional always lay foundation for the electronic music production. “Even the electronic music you hear is deep rooted to conventional music. You can’t have anything without the base,” he said.

Unlike conventional musicians, who love and worship their instruments like a partner or a living being, Azhar never did do. “I respect them (my instruments/software), not worship them. It’s a very real thing, I don’t get into dogma,” he added.

In contrast to Mahima’s sheer folk lyrics, Azhar’s music is experimental that usually revolves around metal, classical rock and Indian Carnatic music.

With a swift setup, comprising of two laptops, amplifiers, mics, aux cables, a guitar, and a ghungroo tied on Mahima’s right foot, the duo appeared like a compact band.

“There’s no checklist for something to be called a band. It has to connect with the audiences,” Azhar said.

“We’ve been working together for three years, so we know each other very well. He knows exactly how I sound, when I sound,” Mahima said, describing their sync on stage, though she was interrupted by Azhar who called himself “perfect” teasing the cheshire cat.

“It’s important to have honesty between band members. There’s no communication gap and we talk to each other to sort things in simpler possible ways,” Azhar added.

Basanti aur Rahza is a well-listened music act on Youtube, SoundCloud and other such mediums. The duo is currently working on the release of their debut album.

“Our album is on verge of release and also, we’re working on parallel projects. We’re taking a good time, we are taking it slow. We’re not jumping on every show that comes to us. It’s very important to know what not to do,” Mahima said, signing off with a broad smile under her cool shades.

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