<p>Some instrumental music is meant to set the tone as it plays softly in the background; but some warrants attention. The work of Sarod Mystics falls firmly in the latter category. The band creates ambient Indo-Western fusion music around the melodies of Drupad Mistry’s sarod. His brother Neeraj adds percussive depth with tabla and handpan, while Anhad Imaan uses his electric guitar to provide bass and grooves, creating an atmospheric feel.</p>.<p>Drupad describes their compositions as “democratic sounds”. Open and inviting, the pieces weave together percussion, strings, and occasional vocals organically, layer by layer. If you listen keenly, he says, “you can hear the journey of how the sound evolved”.</p>.Among the textile magicians of Bhuj.<p>The band’s origin was open-ended too. Three longtime musicians decided to jam together and see where it would lead. The project took shape in July 2024, and in a short time, they have already made three studio albums.</p>.<p>Each member has a “fun” backstory about how they picked up their instruments. Drupad and Neeraj hail from a musical family in Udaipur. Their father, Bhargav Mistry, is a renowned sarod player. Drupad’s first exposure came “in the womb”, thanks to his father practising at home. He later took lessons from sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in Delhi “on and off”. Neeraj, eight years younger, showed a knack for rhythm from age three. He would clap his hands to advertisement jingles. He studied tabla, absorbed Rajasthan’s Manganiyar folk traditions, and discovered the handpan via a viral YouTube video. To him, the handpan merges the worlds of percussion and melody. Today, he also utilises bhapang, khadtal, and ghungroos, to introduce fresh tonal textures.</p>.<p>Imaan bought a guitar out of jealousy, after seeing a schoolmate play one. The right-handed instrument was unsuitable, as Imaan was left-handed. In ’90s India, left-handed instruments were rare, but his father managed to source another one from Kolkata. Around 13, meeting and jamming with guitarist Susmit Sen, formerly cofounder of fusion rock band Indian Ocean, changed his life. Sen told him playing the guitar is not about copying others, it is about expressing yourself.</p>.<p>The band’s storytelling draws inspiration from journeys, not just physical, but also emotional and cultural. Their three albums have been a “journey” themselves. The first, ‘The Mystical Yugo Project’, was purist in approach, with each musician showcasing their skills to produce a soothing sound. The second, ‘October Diaries’, was experimental and full of surprises, with “instruments conversing with each other”. Their third album, ‘Mosaic’, set to launch in Bengaluru today, is an “elegant and sophisticated jam”, blending ideas and emotions from each artiste. </p>.<p>Imaan says ‘Mosaic’ is their most ambitious project yet, thanks to painstaking attention to detail. He points to the track ‘Cruise Mode’: “We spent almost a week finalising how a clap should sound, just to add contrast.”</p>
<p>Some instrumental music is meant to set the tone as it plays softly in the background; but some warrants attention. The work of Sarod Mystics falls firmly in the latter category. The band creates ambient Indo-Western fusion music around the melodies of Drupad Mistry’s sarod. His brother Neeraj adds percussive depth with tabla and handpan, while Anhad Imaan uses his electric guitar to provide bass and grooves, creating an atmospheric feel.</p>.<p>Drupad describes their compositions as “democratic sounds”. Open and inviting, the pieces weave together percussion, strings, and occasional vocals organically, layer by layer. If you listen keenly, he says, “you can hear the journey of how the sound evolved”.</p>.Among the textile magicians of Bhuj.<p>The band’s origin was open-ended too. Three longtime musicians decided to jam together and see where it would lead. The project took shape in July 2024, and in a short time, they have already made three studio albums.</p>.<p>Each member has a “fun” backstory about how they picked up their instruments. Drupad and Neeraj hail from a musical family in Udaipur. Their father, Bhargav Mistry, is a renowned sarod player. Drupad’s first exposure came “in the womb”, thanks to his father practising at home. He later took lessons from sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in Delhi “on and off”. Neeraj, eight years younger, showed a knack for rhythm from age three. He would clap his hands to advertisement jingles. He studied tabla, absorbed Rajasthan’s Manganiyar folk traditions, and discovered the handpan via a viral YouTube video. To him, the handpan merges the worlds of percussion and melody. Today, he also utilises bhapang, khadtal, and ghungroos, to introduce fresh tonal textures.</p>.<p>Imaan bought a guitar out of jealousy, after seeing a schoolmate play one. The right-handed instrument was unsuitable, as Imaan was left-handed. In ’90s India, left-handed instruments were rare, but his father managed to source another one from Kolkata. Around 13, meeting and jamming with guitarist Susmit Sen, formerly cofounder of fusion rock band Indian Ocean, changed his life. Sen told him playing the guitar is not about copying others, it is about expressing yourself.</p>.<p>The band’s storytelling draws inspiration from journeys, not just physical, but also emotional and cultural. Their three albums have been a “journey” themselves. The first, ‘The Mystical Yugo Project’, was purist in approach, with each musician showcasing their skills to produce a soothing sound. The second, ‘October Diaries’, was experimental and full of surprises, with “instruments conversing with each other”. Their third album, ‘Mosaic’, set to launch in Bengaluru today, is an “elegant and sophisticated jam”, blending ideas and emotions from each artiste. </p>.<p>Imaan says ‘Mosaic’ is their most ambitious project yet, thanks to painstaking attention to detail. He points to the track ‘Cruise Mode’: “We spent almost a week finalising how a clap should sound, just to add contrast.”</p>