Shantanu Pandit To Make Mumbai Debut at Live From The Console

Shantanu Pandit

Singer-songwriters certainly don’t have it easy. Preferred for opening sets, they’re usually trying to make an impression on their audience with just a guitar and mic. Says Delhi-based Shantanu Pandit, who has been playing solo for around three years in the capital, “It’s especially difficult playing small bars ”“ people are drinking and they start getting louder than me.” Pandit plays at one of the bigger venues ”“ Mehboob Studios ”“ when he debuts in Mumbai at Live From The Console [LFTC] on September 21st.

The singer has previously performed for bigger crowds when he took to stage at festivals such as Ragasthan in Jaisalmer, Windsong in Goa and The Great Indian Octoberfest in Bengaluru in 2012. There was also the ThiNK conference and concert in Goa last year, where Pandit opened for Irish folk artist and activist Bob Geldof, who led the punk wave with his band Boomtown Rats, and cofounded Live Aid, the fund raising concert with a star-studded lineup held at London’s  Wembley Stadium in 1985. Says Pandit, “To be honest, I didn’t know [about him] and then I looked him up and thought, ”˜Oh shit, this is huge.’ At the gig, I met his bandmates, but I didn’t get to meet him.”

Pandit’s laidback vocals can be heard on his solo material [“depressive, emotional stuff,” as he calls it] as well as on the four-piece acoustic folk/indie rock band, Run! It’s the Kid. For now, he’s working on at least six new songs for his 30-minute set at Live From The Console, which has previously featured singer-songwriters such as  Siddharth Basrur, Nikhil D’souza and Dayglocrazie aka Pratap N Deb. Says Pandit, “I’d heard of LFTC on YouTube, when they uploaded videos that had three songs and an interview with the band. They have access to so much music from all over. I used to think, ”˜I wonder when they’ll call me?’ and then one day my manager called and said I was playing there.”

Besides working on his solo tracks, Pandit is also working on his debut EP with his band. “The newer songs are quite experimental. It’s very downbeat, a lot of more minimal. I’m influenced all-round, musically ”“ from Dylan to Tallest Man on Earth to [Arctic Monkeys frontman] Alex Turner,” says Pandit, adding that he will perform songs such as “The Salt In My Sea” and “Brace Yourself,” while also playing the ukulele at the Mumbai gig.

 Shantanu Pandit performs along with Drawing Short Straws and the True School Band at Live From The Console on September 21st, 2013 at Mehboob Studios. Entry: Rs 250. Event details here.