“I feel like the world is a big place and the Wanderlings have to go and explore.”
The indie industry is always ever-evolving in India. There are ample amounts of artists who are now charting the course of their artistic journey to create music and connections with their audience. One of the most prominent bands in the indie industry right now is Easy Wanderling. The act consists of composer-lyricist Sanyanth Naroth, vocalist Pratika Gopinath, flutist Siya Ragade, violinist Shardul Bapat, bassist Malay Vadalkar, guitarist Sharad Rao, keyboardist Nitin M.Krishna and drummer Abraham Zachariah. Known for their mesmerizing melodies and soulful lyrics, Easy Wanderling has carved a unique path in the world of music.
Their latest release, “Caught in a Parade” provides us with a glimpse into understanding their musical journey, a reflection of their artistry, vision, and profound growth as a band. Our conversation with Sanyanth Naroth explores the formation of the band, diving into the enigmatic journey of their songwriting process, uncovering the latest EP titled “Caught In A Parade” and also celebrating their achievement of winning the IMD award.
The Formation of Easy Wanderling
It is fascinating to see how connected the industry is as the band got its feet with Sanyanth and Malay Vadalkar collaborating on a song together. Sanyanth would be the composer and lyricist of the band while Malay was handling the technicalities of the music. “We are all friends and friends of friends. I told Malay I was writing a few tunes and just for the fun of it, we played around with the music. The tune we wanted to record though required a girl and so we knew of this person studying in Pune. This girl walked in and sang the tune, we both were amazed with how well her voice matched with the track, that was Pratika Gopinath. We always just found the right people to help us, for instance during the album we wanted someone to play western flute. We went to a cafe and saw a tiny girl doodling with her flute. As we approached her we asked if she’d want to come to the studio and record and that was Siya Ragade. By the end of the album, there were eight of us, just a little short of a football team.”
Now, after working on multiple projects together the bond that the band shares is incomparable to anything. Sanyanth tells us this journey has been the perfect puzzle where everything just fell in the right place, almost as if their formation and meeting each other was written in the stars. “Through this journey we have remained the same band working together. It’s almost like things fell into our labs in terms of the people we met. The first album being called ‘As Written in the Stars’ was also a sign of how things were just meant to be, it can be difficult to work in a group but we have been fortunate enough to have each other and understand each other’s workflow.”
The Influences
When asked how they named the band “Easy Wanderling”, Sanyanth says “There was no particular reason, however we are quite an easy going group of people. We love to experiment and work on new things, this whole journey became about how easy it was for us to wander around.” With there being eight members within the band, there was always an intake of musical influences from all the corners, and fortunately for the band, they had a lot in common. “There were a lot of similarities and the stuff we didn’t listen to was always influencing us in aspects. We kept incorporating different styles of music and how we could use it for our band. There is a constant conversation taking place about music, what we like, what works or doesn’t which just helps us connect. That connection is so important and we feel blessed to have that. We know each of our strengths. Nitin who plays the keyboard has a style quite different from Abrahams who plays the drums but we always find a midpoint of agreement and we make things work very well. It is also the music you listen to by yourself, you need to have adventures with your music and get out of that zone.”
The entire journey for the band has been a collaborative process and according to Sanyanth songwriting is no different. “I write the lyrics and melody for the most part but for the latest EP Abraham and I started co-writing it. We would have random observations about the world. We wrote ‘Enemy’ and ‘Centre of the Universe’ together. It worked out quite well because we get along with each other quite well. Whenever we hang out, I’ll play any song idea that I have been working on. I then sit individually with everyone and note by note we go through the music and figure out the different parts that exist within the song. Then we sit all together as a band and see what works and what doesn’t. It is all a collaborative process for us.”
Caught in a Parade
Caught in a Parade is the latest EP of the band consisting of five tracks. The band explores a new sound all together which grabs the attention of the new listeners while also maintaining the aesthetic their original audience fell in love with. “The EP started out during the pandemic, ‘Enemy’ was the first song we wrote. We recorded a few vocals and guitar and it really took quite some time to plan it all together. Music was always bigger than us, so Mayflower was a song where we wanted some soul in the vocals and Nikhil D’Souza’s texture suited the song perfectly. ‘Castle in the Air’ was also an amazing track to work on. There is a clarinet section in the song which was recorded from three different counties, until we finally decided to select the one which suited the song and its soul. It was beautiful to see people from
around the world add a little something of their own to the EP.”
The EP caught the attention and gained quite the recognition by IMD as they won the award for the ‘Best EP of the Year’. “It was an awesome experience. It took us 2 and a half years to get the hang of it. It felt like all the hard work was paid off with the award, almost like a peck on the cheek on this journey.”
Challenges and Milestones
Working within a band is no easy task, but Sanyanth opens up about how they have always prioritized music over themselves. “I think creative differences are something we welcome. Music has always been the first for us, it is the reason why we do what we do. We do not know what is right and wrong but even if there is anything where opinions clash, we are always open to it. We all know there isn’t any space for ego here, it is all about the music. We navigate through the journey and we talk about everything but in the end, we are a team.”
“I think one of the biggest achievements there is for us is to keep working with one another. Making music and working together with your friends has to be the most especial bond. We got to do an international tour this year and the EP was very well received and so this journey has been good. I think now our aim is to get global recognition and we want our music to get far and wide.”
As performing artists, the band has been playing gigs and spreading love with their music throughout the country. One of the best moments for them performing live is simply the audience. “How people perceive music. You can see it in their eyes as they completely drown in it with their emotions and how the music gets them through life. It gave them the push they needed and I think music has always been our companion. When people sing our songs with us, we become one and I think ‘life is good but then someone from the band will say, no, life is great’. I live by that quote because life is great”