Antariksh

Mixing influences from opposite sides of the compass, the result is exciting new prog from India.

Fusing Hindustani and Carnatic traditions with prog, Antariksh have emerged as one of the subcontinent’s most adventurous acts. Founded in Delhi in 2012 by Varun Rajput – composer, producer, guitarist, vocalist and sole constant member – the project began as a six-month experiment. “At one point, there was this whole feeling of, ‘Can I try and bring prog to contemporary Indian music and see how that works?’” Rajput recalls. Fourteen years later, that curiosity has evolved into a fully-fledged musical journey.

On striking a balance between these worlds, Rajput explains, “I was initially exposed to Dream Theater, Pain Of Salvation and The Porcupine Tree, but as I started writing more music, I realised there was really cool Indian music here, too. So I thought, why don’t we fuse the two and see what happens?” Collaborations with guitarists such as Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) and, more recently, Jakub Żytecki have further expanded the project’s sonic palette.

The upcoming album 'Rehguzar' explores the emotional highs and lows of pursuing a singular vision. “The concept of the album is kind of a tribute to anyone who's taken the road less travelled, which a lot of artists, entrepreneurs and creative people do,” he says. “On a journey like that, the peaks and troughs are much higher and lower. Then you spend a lot of time learning stuff, and then you hit a wall. There's this point when you realise, ‘Oh, shit, it's not as easy as I thought it'd be.’”

Though now primarily a solo project, Rajput retains a live presence with session musicians who have been part of the act for over six years. Having played around 1,200 shows since the band’s formation, Antariksh have combined local identity with international accessibility by going bilingual. “Over the last 15 years, we've seen that a lot more experimental music has come out in Hindi, so it's kind of helped us build that audience,” he says. “But when you think of going global, I thought, maybe we can do Hindi and English? So we have.”

Rajput sees Antariksh as uniquely placed within the wider prog landscape. “It’s the kind of stuff that prog listeners can easily absorb,” he states, “and the Indian elements make it sound fresh. We’re carving out our own unique sound.”

- Julian Marszalek

See antarikshofficial.bandcamp.com for more information. Music | Antariksh