MEHRAJ-Band Profile

How the band was formed

The band was formed with the idea of creating & performing experimental music and not sticking to any one genre in particular.

The band features musicians with a wide range of influences & with different musical styles which converge together to create a synergy in sound.

The band is basically made up of professional musicians, award winners & artists who have substantial live music experience.

“ "Mehraj" means “Ascension to Heaven” or “something which elevates your senses to another level”.

Ultimately, Mehraj aspires to create recorded & live music with a unique sound; music that touches the heart & talks to the soul.

Line up:

· Himanshu Sharma-Vocals

· Sachin Naik-Lead Guitar, Backing vocals

· Nitin Kumar-Lead and Rhythm guitar

· Aslam Khan-Saarangi

· Parsa Dattasai-Violin

· Umesh Naidu-Drums

· Ram Mohan-Tabla

· Cherian-Bass

Influences and Interests:

· The major influences are Hindustani classical, Blues, Jazz, Classic rock, Carnatic and Sufi.

· The interplay of diverse musical styles of all the musicians enriches the overall sound and makes it a one-of-its-kind band.

· In our music, you will find the melody of a Thumri (a semi classical love song), the deep forlorn expression of a Ghazal, the devotional fervor of Sufism, the exploration & improvisation found in Jazz layered on top of a Classic Rock & Blues foundation.

· In short, we are an amalgamation of the east and the west, of melody & harmony, of the musical rigor of the ragas & the wild improvisation of fusion, of heart & soul.

What makes us unique:

· In our live performances the band strives to make music that explores the musical creativity of each of its members as well as the event & its overall theme.

· This makes each performance unique in terms of the set list, performances, song structures & improvisational sections.

· Mehraj is adept at playing a wide variety of musical styles – classic rock, heavy rock, Hindustani classical, Sufi, blues, jazz, western classical, alternative rock etc.

· The band is literally growing with each performance; and the musical diversity & ability can be seen in some of our recordings (links below).The own composition is not formally recorded at the moment but you can see a glimpse of it in my profile with the video name Sufi Espanol – ‘Rabba’.

Shows:

La Makaan

Lumbini Park

Inorbit Mall

Awards/Recognition:

The band was interviewed by Reuters and Zee and came on TV. The print media was also present at the venue (Lumbini Park). We have been invited to perform again at every venue that we have played so far. The Times of India has featured the band in an article dated 23^rd May 2011(seen below in the document)

Band logo and pictures

BAND LOGO