The marriage of vintage ‘psychedelic’ haze with the ‘blues-rock’ mesh resulted in sounds so profound that it baffled musicians for years. Illustrated by tangy textures and surreal lyrics, the complex musical structure of this genre was particularly influenced by eastern mysticism. Accompanied by characteristic melodic behaviours and long delay loops, psychedelic blues-rock added an extra dimension to natural sounds. And, over the years, artistes like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and The Beatles blessed mankind with some mind altering tunes and delicious rhythmic breaks.
Likewise, by infusing the inorganic nature of this genre with the earthiness of Sufi poetry, Parvaaz, a Bangalore-based band, has managed to compose a rich mix of hard grooves and modal melodies.
City Express sets forth on a psychedelic journey with Kashif Iqbal (guitars), Khalid Ahmed (vocals), Sachin Banandur (drums) and Fidel D’souza (bass).
Immortalising Kashmiri and Urdu poetry in psychedelic blues-rock, this band has created a world of music that no one has dared to venture into so far.
Their music is about the angst of brutality and purity of love. Taking inspiration from the harsh realities of life, these musicians have succeeded in establishing an identity for themselves in fusion. “We always like to experiment with our music. However, this particular fusion was a natural outcome. For Khalid and Kashif, Urdu and Kashmiri come from the heart.
And, that’s why the lyrics are in these languages. We honestly can’t describe the genre we play. Our music has been classified into several genres ranging from sufi rock to psychedelic hard rock. Primarily, our sound is guitar-based and we also use a lot of percussion. Our songs usually stem from blues, rock n roll or just long drone jams,” said the band.
With lyrics based on desire, love and suffering, their debut EP ‘Behosh’ could be categorised as an art experiment. With elaborate sound effects, thumping baselines and vibrant riffs, these musicians have managed to create something pure and tangible with their music. Through Kashif and Fidel’s jazz-infused bass grooves combined with Khalid’s sultry yet powerful vocals, Parvaaz has produced an absolutely experimental set with their album.
“Behosh has a blues-rock sound. What we like about it is the various layers of music and melodies amalgamate into a single product. The lyrics follow the general theme of how a man seems to lose his way in this materialistic world. Well, we also write about personal experiences. For instance, the song ‘Marika’ is dedicated to a friend of ours, Till date, music has been mankind’s greatest discovery. After all, it is only through music that we realised the true beauty of loneliness and pain of love,” they added.
“Music has the power to not only instil hope but also inspire mankind. It depends on how you take it in your life. You can either passively listen to music or really make it a part of your life. Well, every genre or class of music has its own soul. We listen to various classes of music and have found beauty in some of the most unexpected places. It is not necessary to dissolve one’s identity to connect with people. That’s what makes music so beautiful. We are all sounds and vibrations in constant interaction with each other. And, we truly believe that musicians are the ones who amplify these interactions in the universe and give them different shapes and forms,” they signed off.
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