Premiere: New Delhi Band Kitanu Bring Sarod Aided Rock on Debut EP

As much as the sarod can be considered an instrument best suited for a mellow sonic palette, New Delhi rock band Kitanu are proving otherwise on their self-titled debut EP.

Coming together as college students in 2017, Kitanu currently comprises vocalist Siddhant Sarkar, sarod artist Rohan Prasanna, guitarists Omkar Raghupatruni, drummer Guru Ganapathi and bassist Arman Handa. The three tracks on Kitanu EP were born right at their first jam.

Vocalist Sarkar says that back then, their first jam did invite some raised eyebrow action from an erstwhile guitarist but when they began, things naturally fit. “It just blended well and came together and three of our songs (one of which is ‘Faith’ from this EP) were actually started in the first jam itself,” Sarkar says.

Prasanna, for his part, mentions that he went into the jam not knowing what style of music they’d end up creating. He adds, “In those days I had freshly joined college and the music society had opened my mind into experimenting with genres other than my own (Indian classical) so I was very keen on experimenting on how the sarod would blend with other genres. It was a learning experience as I got to expand my own vision of the sarod.”

The result is upbeat, adrenaline-fueled rock in which the sarod is heard in a playful way that you don’t come across often. The opening track “Vacation” leads with sarod and guitar action, being mostly instrumental. Guitarist Raghupatruni says, “Initially Rohan played the intro to ‘Vacation’ spontaneously and then we sort of build upon that, improvising different parts and using the best ones. For the end I turned on the wah wah pedal.”

“Pebbles” has energetic rock at the center, but also include sarod lead portions and the closing track “Faith” is a jazz-informed journey, putting the sarod in the spotlight for Indian classical sections as well as spirited guitar solos, going over the Pearl Jam-esque vocal melodies.

Up next, Kitanu are prepping for another EP which contain “a lot more exciting songs,” according to drummer Ganapathi. He adds, “This time we did everything by ourselves, including recording and mixing, and we all feel we’ve gotten a lot better at it now.”

Listen to the EP below and stream on Spotify and SoundCloud.