How would you like to hear a mashup of Bollywood songs like Coldplay’s Viva La Vida / Jashne-e-Bahara, Ed Sheeran’s Photograph / Aayat / Laal Ishq,” to Mark Ronson’s  Uptown Funk / Badtameez Dil and many others sung by an a capella group?

The world's first desi a cappella group Penn Masala was in India last May and performed at six cities across the country as part of their Homecoming Tour. The last time they visited the country was in 2017.

The group that has a change of lineup every few years, has spread the popularity of Hindi a cappella music not only within America, but also in parts of Canada, London and Mumbai. Since 1996 they have released 11 studio albums, have performed at the Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, and were featured in the Hollywood feature film and soundtrack for “Pitch Perfect 2” which received an American Music Award for Best Soundtrack in 2015.

The songs Penn Masala perform at their shows are high-energy and made to make you want to sing and dance.

Verus Ferreira spoke to the band members on their visit and learnt that they have also been honored by performing at the White House for President Barack Obama.

Can you give us a background on Penn Masala and how the name came about?

Raghu Raman:Sure. Penn Masala was founded by four students at the University of Pennsylvania who had a shared love of fusion Desi and Western music in the form of a cappella. A cappella is essentially a musical performance or rendition without any instruments. And as for the name, Penn Masala really came to represent how the group ‘spiced’ up the traditional western a cappella scene with some Desi fusion elements.

How many members are in the group at present and how frequent do you have line-up changes?

Prateek Adurty:13 members are currently in the group. Group composition changes every year as our graduating seniors sadly leave. However, we take in new freshmen who will spend the next approximate four years with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

What academic courses are you guys studying and with each student graduating out of college, how has the band remained together for so long?

Ajay Kilambi:The band really stays together for one reason, a shared love of music. Even though many of us are taking difficult courses in Computer Science, Biology, or Economics, we still come together at the end of almost every single day to have jam sessions or think of new creative musical mashups.

Besides Bollywood music, Hindi and English songs, do you also have any original songs to your playlist?

Samarth Nayak: Yes, we do. Penn Masala has always experimented with having original songs. For example, our 2009 album ‘On Detours’ has one of my personal favorites Distant Places. And, even our most recent album, ‘Midnight Oil’, features one of our most popular songs, Hazy, an original song that’s a mix of Western R&B/Jazz and Eastern Carnatic runs. 

So then let’s talk about your latest ‘Midnight Oil’.

Raghu Raman:Midnight Oil was released in 2020 and represents the group coming back together after the pandemic. The title largely comes from the phrase, “Burning the Midnight Oil.” This often represents staying up late for studying, working, or reading. Therefore the title of the album represents the hard-work the group put into the newest album in the wake of the pandemic that has some of the groups' most popular songs like Dhoom/ Talk Dirty or Blinding Lights/ Bol Na Halke Halke.

Where do you guys record all of your songs?

Riju Datta:We work with a sound engineer based in Philly, called Studio Crash. We’ve been working with him for over 15 years. He really understands our sound and has seen how it’s evolved over the years.

So how does the song synchronization take place?

Venu Chillal:Blending our background parts to sound like one cohesive voice is very important in a capella. It takes hours of practicing and listening to everyone singing to make everything match and synchronize.

What age group do you guys look for when you take on a new member and how often do you bring in a new member?

Prateek Adurty:We bring in new members every year to replace our graduating seniors. They’re usually always incoming freshmen of an age of approximately 18.

What are the requirements to be part of Penn Masala?

Ajay Kilambi:There’s no requirement except for enjoying music. While some of our members are classically trained, or have prior choir experience, some others are just shower singers.

What has been your most memorable concert ever?

Venu Chillal:In Masala history, I think the most memorable performance has been for President Obama in 2009 for the White House Diwali Celebration. It was an honor and truly humbling moment to know how widespread the appreciation for Desi fusion a cappella music had come since its inception in 1996. As a current group member, my favorite performance was at Purdue University just this past year. With a large crowd, with lots of energy, I feel like the group is able to feed into the energy and have an amazing, high-energy performance.

What challenges do you face making music without instruments?

Prateek Adurty:Sometimes the hardest part can be translating original songs into arrangements that do not have any instrumental components. We have to work from scratch to figure out how our original melodies and sounds can come together in an a cappella format. It takes a lot of work and effort.

What do you love about being in Penn Masala?

Gaurish Gaur:The people. Be it the current Masala members who are there to support me, balancing being in a touring group while also having to deal with finals, or the alumni who are always there to give me advice about how to maximize the college experience, the people and history of Penn Masala is what makes it where I want to be.

What are your favorite songs?

Gaurish Gaur:My favorite songs from Masala are Blinding Lights/ Bol Na Halke Halke, Hazy, and Photograph/ Aayat/ Laal Ishq.

I suppose you might have heard of the American a capella group Pentatonix?

Samarth Nayak:Pentatonix is one of our biggest inspirations. A lot of group members take inspiration from what they have been able to do and what we can do to bring that amount of attention to the Desi a cappella scene.

Do you feel that Desis are represented well in music overseas?

Rohit Rajagopalan:No, Desi representation is still extremely limited in music overseas. However, as time has progressed, Desi representation in the media has gotten better. But this only sets the stage for more and more efforts from groups like Penn Masala to ensure that Desi Music is represented in Western Media.

What are Penn Masala’s plans for the future?

Venu Chillal:Penn Masala has big plans for the future.  We have just released our newest music video of Fire Burning/ Chammak Challo. Furthermore, in India, we’re set to do some pretty big collaborations with some artists who inspired all of us to even pursue music in the first place. But looking towards the future, Masala has a goal of wanting to be in a big-budget Indian film as part of the soundtrack.

Interviewed By Verus Ferreira

Photos: Courtesy of the Artist