The duo of Delhi boys Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj, better known to the world as Midival Punditz were till this moment regarded as India’s most acclaimed electronic act. After being featured on multiple international compilations and being the first electronic act to sign an international deal, the band rightly dubbed as ‘The new sound of 21st Century India’ has added another feather to their cap, this time being the first Indian band to compose the entire background score for a Bollywood movie – in this case the Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone starrer ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’. This break into mainstream came with the assistance of like minded producer and composer Karsh Kale, who is featured along with the twosome on a few tracks of the soundtrack album, mainly the remix version of the movie theme plus a hard rocking version entitled Kartik 2.0.
The pair stopped by Blue Frog in Mumbai on the day of the movie’s release, February 26th, to give the eager audience a taste of what to expect. Cementing their reputation as one of the best live acts around, the duo stepped on stage to spectacular atmospherics, lights and images on screens flashing in tandem with the crowd’s excitement. Taking their place at pre defined consoles; they were accompanied by the usual suspects, flautist Amit Prasanna and Karsh Kale on Drums and Tablas. With charismatic Assamese singer Angaraag Papon Mahanta in charge of vocal duties, the scene was set perfectly to display the Punditz unique blend of Indian classical and techno.
Playing songs predominately off of their 2009 release ‘Hello Hello’, the pair had the crowd in their grasp from the get go. Starting off with a remixed version of the ever popular ‘Tonic’, the south Indian folk rhythms of ‘Raanjhan’ soon translated into the smooth club vibe of ‘Kesariya’. The mellow instrumental ‘Drifting’ saw Prasanna take lead with an inspiring flute part complemented flawlessly by Kale, proving themselves as masters of Indian fusion.
Songs that followed were stand out tracks like the up tempo ‘Electric Universe’ and 80’s dance rock ‘Atomizer’ complete with an electronic vocal track and a gratifying crescendo. Their versatility of sound with songs ranging from instrumental to electronic rock to orchestral soundscapes pioneered the sonic approach to music providing those in attendance a night to remember.
