Musical foodie duo from city working on multi-lingual album

BENGALURU: Musician duo Bryden and Parth, known for their renditions of popular Bollywood songs, are currently working on an album expected to release in 2018. Bryden says, “We have been a commercial band staging Bollywood acts for the last two years. So now, renditions of popular songs will be put on the back burner.”

The band is working on a multi-lingual album. “There will be songs in south and north Indian languages, and foreign languages. The feel will be world music that is influenced by hip hop,” reveals Bryden.

He clarifies that the renditions of popular songs were not intended to create viral content on social media. “I have been touring with Parth for four to five years. We used to work on originals with The Raghu Dixit Project. When we had some time off, we would jam together and play  random film songs, just the two of us. People liked the sounds of the guitar and the flute together. Then we started uploading videos online,” he says. He says commerical Bollywood songs are easy to perform. “When we do renditions live, we perform in such a range that it sounds challenging to everyone,” he adds.

The duo has collaborated with The Choral Riff and have now grown to a 20-member band. “The journey has been excellent,” says Bryden, and adds that it all happened through word of mouth. “So far, we haven’t done any publicity. It’s been direct calls. Our clients call us finding the contact number on social media,” he says.

He recalls them having performed for an audience as small as 12 people to as big as a lakh and a half. “We have done some private shows for corporates too. They usually don’t listen to us, just enjoy themselves at the bar,” he says.  

Parth and Bryden started their career as a duo at Opus near Palace Grounds two years ago. “We haven’t performed in a pub since then. This Saturday will be our first time performing at a pub with a 20-member band,” he says.

When asked whether they have come across any crazy fans, he says, “Whenever we perform in Bengaluru, a boy comes from a village, 500 km away from the city for the show. He boards the first train to Bengaluru in the morning and returns the next day.”  

Apart from music, the duo share interest in food. “We are tired of hotel food. So, when we travel, we get out on streets and try local food. But Parth is a vegetarian and I am a non-vegetarian,” he says.      
Bryden and Parth will be performing with The Choral Riff at Opus, Harlur Road, on December 23.