Hear New Delhi Act Shorthand’s Banjo-Aided Single ‘Springtime’

Turns out it’s not just hip-hop producers and SoundCloud rappers who can throw around “DM for collab” in their profile bios on social media. New Delhi jazz rock band Shorthand were messaged by American artist Andy Eversole aka Banjo Earth on Instagram after he found a clip of the band’s work.

It led to the creation of their latest song “Springtime,” one that channels bluegrass, Southern folk, jazz and more. Eversole, a vlogger and Americana artist, traveled to India earlier this year to document his experiences in the country and sought to explore musical traditions and standards. While Eversole is readying his album Banjo Earth India for release on October 7th, “Springtime” is Shorthand’s second single, following “Impressions,” which was out in July.

Drummer Prithvi Iyer tells us, “Andy mentioned that he had written a little something on the banjo; he sent us a chord chart and an audio recording entitled ‘Bombay Bounce’.” Iyer, vocalist Sreya Muthukumar, guitarist Abhinav Srikant and bassist Govind Narayan met Eversole for a two-hour practice session in which they wrote and recorded the song, which features prominent banjo sections that Iyer says originally kept to a bluegrass style. Iyer adds, “His [Eversole] musical sensibilities were rooted in improvisation whereas Shorthand is focused on structure and arrangement. The song really came together when bursts of banjo improvisation were grounded in a groovy rhythm section.”

The song is a new addition to Shorthand’s setlist at their upcoming show on homeground at Hard Rock Café on September 20th. Iyer adds, “As for the future, we are doing a string of shows in Bangalore that include our first time playing a gig with [living room show series] LVNG, in addition to playing at Bflat and Blue Frog. Lastly, we are also ready to beginning recording a four-song EP. We will begin tracking in November this year.”

Shorthand performs at Hard Rock Café, New Delhi on September 20th. Event details here.