Coming from different countries and musical backgrounds, it’s fitting that Anhad + Tanner’s debut album is called ‘In Other Words’. Released on 14^th August on Gravity Sounds – the label run by Midival Punditz’s Gaurav Raina – ‘In Other Words’ is where two worlds meet, where the sounds of Indian classical music meld with a modern electronica sound palette.

Inspired by the sounds of Asian Underground and artists like Talvin Singh, Karsh Kale and of course, Punditz, Anhad + Tanner’s effort doesn’t shy away from its influences, placing Indian classical music centre-stage. It’s, as they describe, “an album of exploration and discovery” and one that attempts to add a new sonic chapter to Asian Underground. 

The seven-track album recorded in Delhi and Durham, mixed by Raina at his studio in Hauz Khas and finally mastered by Graeme Durham at The Exchange Studios in London. 

The album also features several collaborators like classical vocalist Pavithra Chari whose voice is the highlight of ‘Haari’, singer Kamakshi Khanna, tabla player Sarthak Pahwa, Vibhor Mathur (flute), Vinayak Panth (sitar), Soumitra Thakur (sitar), Aditya Balani (guitar) and vocalist Saptak Chatterjee who evokes a sense of nostalgia for a time past in the melancholic ‘Childhood’.  

Delhi resident Anhad Khanna and Durham-based Tanner Willeford met in the Capital in 2016 while working with the NGO, Music Basti. 

After a year of teaching together, the two decided to make music as Anhad + Tanner, a collaborative project which focused on making music inspired by their respective backgrounds – Anhad’s being based in the sounds of Asian Underground and Indian electronica and Tanner’s coming from contemporary jazz and Western classical. Their first release was the mellow and restrained Jiya (ft. Isheeta Chakrvarty on vocals) in 2018, which also inspired the opening track of ‘In Other Words’, Jiya II.

“Since it’s conception, In Other Words was a project meant to open doors to a wide variety of collaborations,” explains Anhad, a multi-instrumentalist and producer. “While there is a strong Indian classical vein running throughout all of our collaborators on the album, our intention was to show the full spectrum of the musical tradition’s influence on modern Indian musicians. In Pavithra and Soumitra, for instance, you find a more traditional approach, while Vibhor and Vinayak weave in distinct flavours of R&B and pop respectively. This range of expression reflects the versatility of Indian classical, and captures the kind of coming together of tradition and innovation which Anhad + Tanner is all about,” he adds.

Tanner, who studied jazz piano at the University of North Carolina says, “We hope that each one of our listeners is able to find something from ‘In Other Words’ to keep for themselves. While the music begins in our hearts and our minds, we hope that it ends up in yours. Afterall, music is meant to be shared and so are traditions and cultures.”

While ‘In Other Words’ is their debut album Anhad + Tanner’s previous releases include a remix for the Midival Punditz track ‘Purvayi’ (2019) that featured the Assamese singer Papon.

Listen to the album:

https://fanlink.to/AnhadTannerMusic