Alobo Naga & The Band-Painted Dreams(E.P)
Published in Album Reviews
I first heard ALOBO NAGA & THE BAND on VH1 when their video of PAINTED DREAMS was making its rounds. Honestly after listening to it the first time I didn’t realize what a good band they were. Little did I know I was humming their song a while later and then the realization hit me that this is not just another band. And of course, VH1 rarely showcases Indian artists until and unless they are very well off or just too good to ignore. So hearing ALOBO NAGA & THE BAND alongside NILADRI KUMAR, DREAM OUT LOUD, SHAAIR + FUNC and others on VH1 seemed like the appropriate thing. A few days later and a couple of hours of research into the band cemented my conviction in their music.
Chandresh Kudwa–Conqueror
Published in Album Reviews
Rock guitarist and co-founder of DREAM OUT LOUD, one of the biggest bands in India, Chandresh Kudwa released his debut solo album CONQUEROR in November this year. The album is an out-and-out solo effort by Chandresh Kudwa with Frank Basile behind the drums and Grammy-winning Bob Katz as producer. Let us see, what do we have in here!
One of the country’s finest ever guitar players has launched his second Instrumental album titled CONQUEROR. Chandresh Kudwa’s flying fingers have given birth to this latest album which has come out thanks to a very busy, fun and even traumatic last few months. The title track CONQUEROR is a rousing, anthemic song which is already one of the favorites at most of his gigs. While the quirkily named G-UKE song is a track where he strums on a "Ukulele" while running his fingers across the fret board of a Guitar!
Artwork
Besides these tracks, one of the main highlights of the album remains Chandresh Kudwa’s collaborations with Swedish guitarist legend Mattias Eklundh on a track called the GOOD LIFE. The album also has a poignant touch with EDGE OF MY EMOTIONS written for his late father. ‘He was suffering from cancer and that song encapsulates what I felt at that point, but such experiences make us tougher and stronger, and I guess that’s how a CONQUEROR must be’ says Chandresh. CONQUEROR has been mastered by none other than three time Grammy winning engineer BobKatz. All the songs on the album have been composed, arranged, mixed and produced by Chandresh Kudwa. This one promises to keep the air guitarist in you going!
About Chandresh Kudwa:
Well known as one of the finest guitar players in the country today, Chandresh Kudwa stands out not just for his extraordinary skill on the instrument, but also for his engaging stage act and remarkable original compositions comprising of the chunkiest riffs and strictly melody oriented solos. He has been playing for well over 20 years now and has been a part of ex bands FREEDOM and DREAM OUT LOUD(two critically acclaimed albums titled A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS and HUMAN RACE). Wanting to further his creative boundaries, he founded AXE-TORTION! A concept that acts as a stage for solo guitar players to come together, play their originals and lay the foundations for a monster jam on stage! Having released his solo Instrumental album A CHANGE online previously, Chandresh has now released his second album called CONQUEROR. His song GOOD LIFE from this album is in collaboration with Swedish guitar player Mattias Eklundh. He is currently touring the length and breadth of the country in support of CONQUEROR!
Chandresh is also a sought after composer/ sessions player in the Ad/Film industry and his compositions can be heard on jingles created for Blackberry, LG, AXN Action Awards to name a few. His guitar work (and the insane solo)
is also heard on the DILLI DILLI track composed by Amit Trivedi for the bollywood film NO ONE KILLED JESSICA.
Besides his busy live touring and studio schedule, he also takes time out to impart his skills to other aspiring musicians and has been a well-respected guitar tutor for over 12 years now. His online website www.theguitarthing.com is the first of its kind in India.
For more information, visit Chandresh Kudwa's Official Website.
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Dream Out Loud-Interview
Published in Interviews
IMR: Hello CHANDRESH! So first of all on behalf of Team IMR, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Tell us about DOL, after playing Live for so many years how you came up with the idea of DOL?
DOL(Chandresh): Well, about 4 years back Suraj happenend to call me for a one of show and that’s how we started jamming. We realized that both of us had the same creative urge and wanted to start a band that only played originals. So we started writing songs and recorded our first album HUMAN RACE.