Based in the Indian city of Bangalore, composer and musician Angad Berar employs analog instruments, woods and recorded samples to create sonic experiences that are informed by the world around him.
He likes to call his music “a concoction between 1960’s psychedelia and Hindustani music” of his homeland. Such elements are clearly audible while listening to tracks from his eight-track debut album, Elephants on the Beach.
The instruments used on this album include an Ibanez art core guitar, MAudio Oxygen midi and samples recorded over a Zoom 505.
One of the standout instrumentals from the album is the 16-minute long ‘Kraut epic’ called “Astrokaut.” While devoid of lyrics, Berar says it has a fairly involved storyline that inspired it.
“Astroknaut,” he writes, “is comprised of three chapters. Throughout the song, the protagonist travels through different spaces and environments until finally, in the end, he reaches inner peace, highlighted by a sample of Buddhist chants.”
Some of the noise here was accomplished using a steel bowl (Katori) played on the guitar and later passed through an echo pedal in the DAW, Berar says.
In the final chapter, the protagonist is in constant motion amidst growing chaos around him until he reaches a crescendo followed by peace.
“I divided the song into different chapters and gave each of them a different treatment. Creating the second chapter was super fun because it let me use tools and methods of playing the guitar which I probably wouldn’t have used.”
“The listener is introduced to soundscapes created by hints of reverse guitars, white noise samples, and cacophony of echo pedals,” he concludes.
Berar says its the tale of reminiscing of his college days spent on the beaches of Anjuna, Goa. The album was recorded in his home studio over a few months. It was mixed and mastered by producer Ashrey Goel.