Rendezvous with 'Something Relevant'

Salman Rob

	Something Relevant Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

A group of friends performing for the love of music - that's what 'Something Relevant' is all about. Starting out with performing on street pavements, parks and weddings, 'Something Relevant' is a band from Mumbai, India, determined to let the world know, feel and hear their presence loud and clear.

Something Relevant has Tanmay Bhattacharjee on guitars, Stuart DaCosta on bass and vocals, Aalok Padhye on percussions, Jehangir Jehangir, popularly known as JJ, on drums, Luis Chico on Piano, and lastly Ryan Sadri on saxophone. Inspired by great names in music like, The Dave Mathews Band, Lettuce, Miles Davis and more, the members of Something Relevant mention how they like to follow jazz music. DaCosta says, “Our songs are very open. Anyone can contribute and give ideas. Improvisation is the aim. To make something original, it has to come from within.”

Speaking of how the band formed, Sadri says, “We started off back in our college days, which was in 2003, and along the way there were many ups and downs. A few of us got busy with out studies and carrier planning. But we all came back eventually, took things seriously and took a step forward by joining Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) where all of us took diplomas on specific departments that we were interested in. Not only did it enhance our musical capabilities, we started respecting all kinds of music.”

Rachel Varghese, an independent singer and an old friend of the band, talks about her performances with Something Relevant every now and then. “I have jammed with them very often, and since they like to call themselves a jam band, it is not that hard to blend in with their music.”

Speaking about the Bangladeshi Bands, Bhattacharjee and DaCosta say, “The high standard music scene here was something we were not expecting. Bands like Nemesis would soon be the icon of many more upcoming bands. We were blown away by Zohad's vocals. We feel bands like theirs should be invited to India to do more music festivals, which would not only be a great opportunity, but would form a good bond between the two nations.”

When asked for tips for young upcoming bands in South Asia, Bhattacharjee and the whole band say, “It has been eight years since we started off and when we did, we were just as young. We were just like you; all we did was take a different approach-- tried something different and made sure it sounded original. The only advice is to listen to everything, appreciate it and take risks in life. You won't go anywhere if you do not take risks!”

The band 'Something Relevant' came to Dhaka to do shows for an event called 'Rockophony'. They performed on stage with an orchestra group from the Philippines called the 'Manila Symphony Orchestra'. They were also full of praises for the band ''Superband', comprising of famous names in the contemporary music scene.

The members of 'Something Relevant' also mentioned how amazing it felt to perform in front of an energetic crowd. They finished off by saying, “If everything goes well, Dhaka will see 'Something Relevant' once again before the end of this year!”