Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash embark upon a new musical adventure on Valentine’s Day with Devika

Mumbai. Sarod maestros Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash collaborate with San Francisco based soulful singer/songwriter Devika for ‘Jaaniya’ which has released today to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Jaaniya is a beautiful rendition of soulful Sufi music and the deep emotional core of the Sarod.  

Jaaniya is experimental and is very different for the work Amaan & Ayaan have done as solo artists as it presents the Sarod in a more contemporary and modern production. Jaaniya takes their music in a new direction that is dramatic and soul searching at the same time.

Amaan Ali Bangash said, “With Jaaniya, Ayaan and me along with Devika are aiming to bridge the gap between Indian classical and independent experimental music. The use of the sarod in this composition will definitely give the whole song a fresh melody which would surprise the listeners.”

Ayaan Ali Bangash said, “We are sure Jaaniya will strike a chord with the young and matured audiences alike. Devika’s beautiful voice texture paired with the sarod- will definitely be a harmonious amalgamation and an immersive experience. Amaan Bhai and I have been experimenting a lot with our format and looking at more collaborative engagements.”

The first collaboration between Amaan, Ayaan and Devika titled Holle Holle was a soft, soulful and classically inspired track for easy listening.

Speaking about the new track, singer, Devika said: “I wanted our next collaboration to be significantly different from what we did with Holle Holle.  Holle Holle was a melody-first, gentle, meandering, romantic ballad.  With Jaaniya on the other hand, I deliberately focused on the rhythm and groove first.

I chose a drum and electric guitar loop for rhythmic inspiration and built a melody around that. The main hook took the form of a chant of sorts. The mood created through that tight rhythm and upbeat tempo naturally led me to make this a song about the longing, the heartbreak and the loneliness that we have all experienced in love. 

Amaan and Ayaan brought out the same intensity of emotion and the restlessness of the heart in their Sarod performance and improvisation.  I can’t wait for our next track together; I feel that we are evolving as artists and that evolution is challenging and fulfilling. “

Jaaniya is composed by Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash and Devika while it is written and sung by the later. The music has been arranged by Agnelo, Fernandes and recorded in Mumbai and SFO.