Rolling Stone India Goes #OffStage: Introducing a New Photo Series

Producer/percussionist Aditya Ashok aka Ox7gen.

Much like music itself, musicians operate at constantly changing rhythms. On stage, the artist is part of two different relationships: the artist-audience relationship which could be called a whirlwind romance, which hits off with the first note and ends with the set. The other, however, is more permanent. Musicians and instruments share a bond which extends off-stage, into a personal space.

Vocalist and harpist Nush Lewis.

While performing may be extroversive a function, writing is a deeply intimate exercise. It is natural for an artist to feel at home, forming a ”˜live-in’ relationship with their instruments and the rooms in which they create music. There are a few who try and strike a balance between life on the stage and off it, but for most, the line between the two is blurring.

So what does being in a relationship with your instrument look like? Over the next few weeks, artists across several genres including pop/rock singer-songwriter Tejas Menon, death-metaller Sahil Makhija, electronic producer Ox7gen and more invite Rolling Stone India into their homes for a glimpse. 

Hipnotribe/Bombay Black guitarist Paresh Kamath.

Photographs by Swaraj Sriwastav.

Check out more portraits of artists at home in our OffStage series here.