RadioandMusic
| 25 Apr 2024
Vishal Dadlani gives contemporary twist to Neeraj AryaÆs Kabir CafÚ on æThe DewaristsÆ

MUMBAI: For the sophomore episode of 'The Dewarists - Season 4', well known Bollywood music composer Vishal Dadlani will be seen collaborating with up and coming independent music group Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe. In the culturally rich cities of Pokhra and Kathmandu in Nepal, the Pentagram front-man and members of Kabir Cafe try and recreate the magic of the 16th century poet.

Radioandmusic.com spoke to the members of Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe on how did the collaboration happened. "OML (Only Much Louder) called and asked us if we wanted to be part of this season of 'The Dewarists' as the theme is poetry meets music, and we immediately agreed. We travelled to Kathmandu and then to Pokhra in Nepal and met the local poets and musicians there," said the band members.

The self-proclaimed "travelling musicians" had short-listed three of their tracks inspired by the works of Kabir, the poet. Of them, they played one called 'Fakiri' to Dadlani which he really liked. The lyrics for the track are written by Ankur Tiwari of Ankur and the Ghalat Family. Dadlani then added Hindi and English lyrics to the track. "Vishal's lyrics are an introduction to Kabir, his life and his poetry. His addition to the track has made Kabir and his poetry relevant and contemporary," said the band members. They further added, "Vishal has taken our song to a completely different place."

The members of Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe are really grateful to OML for giving them the platform of 'The Dewarists' to showcase their work. The band is known for providing music to the verses of Kabir and fusing various music genres while doing so, such as Pop, Reggae, Rock, Folk and even Carnatic. The band consists of Neeraj Arya (Vocals), Raman Iyer (Mandolin), Mukund Ramaswamy (Violin), Viren Solanki (Percussions) and Poubuanpou Britto KC (Bass Guitar).

Dadlani is one-half of the award-winning Bollywood music composer duo- Vishal-Shekhar. He is also the front-man of the Indian rock band, Pentagram. This collaboration marks Dadlani's second appearance on 'The Dewarists'. The first time he appeared on the show was with Grammy Award winner Imogen Heap for the series premiere of the show.

The second episode of 'The Dewarists - Season 4' called 'Fakiri' airs Saturday, 20 December on Pepsi MTV Indies.