Want to experience the flavours of India — modern and old? Then joining Ashutosh Phatak and Dhruv Ghanekar on their musical trip Smoke Signals is a good start.

Indian classical, western symphony, folk, bebop, jazz, electronica, rock, blues, pop...  the Mumbai-based musicians bring together these styles in the album, giving a vision of India in different languages all along. 
“There are nine songs in Smoke Signals. They have been sung in English, Bengali and Assamese among others. There is also a Sanskrit shloka,” says Ashutosh. The album, the duo say, is an exploration of sounds. “It is a potpourri of music. Basically, it reveals the exposure we have had to different kinds of music over the past ten years,” adds Ashutosh. Each song comes with a poem to match it, making the album unique,” say the duo, who have worked on the album for over three years.   

 Smoke Signals is the latest album to be released under the Blue Frog Records label, owned by Ashu and Dhruv. 
The Record label that has also launched the music of John Mclaughlin and Shaa’ir + Func, Ashutosh says, is all for creating a strong music culture. “We want to create an urban music culture that is not Bollywood. We are looking for singers who are pure and have their own sound. We will even promote Chinese opera, if the singer is true to him or herself. They need to have that something that will make them stay.”

 Are they looking at Bangalore as a talent base? “Sure. The City has young talent in plenty. We are open to giving them a chance and are networking with several clubs to hunt for talent,” he says. Before they sign off, they tell us that they are eager to perform in namma Bengaluru. “I’ve heard that the crowd here is fantastic. I will come here with my band and play sometime soon.”

As of now, they sing Summer Time Rocks. Kailash Kher has also lent his voice for the song. “We have even shot an animated version of the song,” Ashutosh says. Mahalakshmi Iyer has also lent her voice for the album. Films Drona,Chandini Chowk, 99, Dream Blanket and Broken Thread, for which they have composed music are also due for release.

Shruti I L