Photos: Amyt Datta Premieres Upcoming Album ‘Amino Acid’
The veteran Kolkata guitarist was joined by drummer Jivraj Singh, bassist Mainak Nag Chowdhury and guitarist Arinjoy Sarkar at a special edition of weekly gig series Jamsteady
Amyt Datta live at Jamsteady, June 2016. Photo: Margub Ali
When you hear Amyt Datta say something like “The challenges of angularism fascinate me” and “dissonance in a valid musical logic allows me to sound different,” you can see why the Kolkata guitarist is counted among the best guitarists in India. Datta, also part of rock band Skinny Alley and experimental rockers PINKNOISE, was describing his upcoming album Amino Acid, which is slated to release later this year.
Datta, who released his last album Pietra Dura in July 2015, played a raw electric set comprising his avant-garde jazz songs. Datta was joined by regular collaborator and PINKNOISE/Skinny Alley/Parekh and Singh drummer Jivraj Singh, bassist Mainak Nag Chowdhury aka Bumpy and guitarist Arinjoy Sarkar. Datta and Singh match grooves effortlessly, so it’s no surprise to hear the guitarist say they both work together on a lot of his material. “I record all my parts with a basic demo groove before I take it to Jiver. He then records drums while channeling the intention and vibe I had for the song.”
He says of the upcoming album, “By the time I started to record Amino Acid I was more in control of the computer.” Datta has recorded the album at his home studio, and says compared to his 2013 album Ambiance de Danse, there’s a lot more electric guitar-led music that’s “aggressive”. He adds, “I used my tuning [OTX] on many parts. OTX stands for ‘octave tuning experiment’. I had not played OTX on Ambiance de Danse. Amino involves more unconventional harmonic devices and has a wide sonic spectrum, from one chord grooves with surf sounding guitar to complex harmonic changes and beats.”
Photos and interview by: Margub Ali
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