Aditya Kambhampati Reminisces About Being a Kid on New EP ‘The Classroom Project’

With a number of singles under his belt, as well as his 2020 debut EP The Green Room Project, Mumbai singer-songwriter Aditya Kambhampati spent a large chunk of this year refining and putting together his recently released sophomore EP, the four-track The Classroom Project. Released in a piecemeal fashion, Kambhampati spoke to us about the process behind it. 

When did work on The Classroom Project begin? 

Well, to be honest it didn’t even start as an EP concept in my mind. All the songs just happened randomly in no particular order and at one point, I realized all of them have a common theme and hence I decided to club them together in the form of an EP.  

What can you tell me about the songs on the record? 

I have attempted to tell a story and present a concept through the EP. The Classroom Project tries to cover the times from being an eight- or ten-year-old to being a 20-something.  

‘Fati Parchi’ talks about our late teens or early 20s, when we are in our bubble and felt like we can own the world, but we were stupid to think that. ‘Sirhaane’ is more of a teenage thrill song which talks about secrets and mischiefs done during your teens, while ‘Bane Khile’ talks about the chaos that we were as kids. And finally, ‘Gulmohar’ is a pure reminiscence of the past through poetry from a grown man’s point of view, which has a very pointed theme stating that the child in us never dies.  

I hear a lot of music around in the hood talking about universal emotions and themes like love, freedom, etc. But not a lot of music spoke about the times when we were actually free and loved purely, when we were kids. 

What was it like putting this EP together? 

Like always, I produce my own music. The arrangements and productions were composed a long time ago, some time in 2021. I have just been reworking the vibe and the little details of the songs, which actually took a longer time. I have never been this brutal to myself. I had literally canned entire produced versions of ‘Sirhaanee’ and ‘Gulmohar’ and reworked them as I felt I overdid stuff in a lot of parts. The mix and master were no less. Every song has had at least four rejected drafts of the mix.  

But I have collaborated with new folks on this EP, which was a blessing. Aditya Karhadkar like always has penned lyrics for the first three songs and the tone and choice of vocabulary in the lyrics is very different as we wanted to have a very pop and chill vibe to the songs. But ‘Gulmohar’ has been penned by my wife Shifa as it demanded a more poetic and profound tone, which I think Shifa slayed quite beautifully. Also, I have taken help from my friends Alistair [piano] and Divij [strings section production] on ‘Gulmohar.’  

What plans do you have to further promote the record?  

We shot extensively across unique and interesting locations of Mumbai for the music video of ‘Fati Parchi.’ The video should be out sometime in December and we are working on the edit. It’s been shot and edited by another friend of mine, Lal Narendra. Besides that, I am trying to put together a DIY tour across a few cities and do intimate gigs as I’d like to perform my new songs to strangers and listeners who probably don’t have a lot of exposure to my content. 

What’s next? 

This year has been a very busy one as the majority of the production, recording and music video shoot happened in the past few months. I am also trying to put together a band with a bunch of super-talented musicians with whom I can perform and look to get active around the circuit. We have started rehearsing my original music from the EP and previously released stuff. Let’s see what lies ahead. 

Stream ‘The Classroom Project’ on Spotify below and on other platforms.