The Fifths were at their creative best as they mesmerised the audience with their music at the recent Lucky Ali concert in Melbourne.
For The Fifths it has always been about music, and their passion is the reason this group of talented young musicians has been creating ripples in the music industry in Melbourne. The group – with Rohan Raghavan and Aditya Vaddiparthi as lead singers, Apurva Nargundkar as the percussionist, Sarang Mujumdar as the pianist, Harsha Sree as the rhythm and Arnav Dayal as the lead guitarist — blends a unique range of classical, modern, alternative and experimental Indian and international music.
“It was a great experience and working with a legendary singer like Lucky Ali is a unique opportunity. He is an incredible artiste and an easygoing person to work with. It is difficult for a world-class singer to trust a band he has never met before, but it is his generosity that he trusted us,” says Rohan.
Rohan says that though they did a number of rehearsals at their end, it was only after meeting him did they realise his live performance were different from his albums. “He does things very differently and the music at his live concerts is different from what you hear in his albums. Though it took us some time to understand his style, his guitarist Subhash proved to be a big support,” says Rohan, who adds that the band had only three days to practice with him.
“It was a huge task but we pulled it off because of a team effort. We rehearsed for three days with Lucky Ali, from 6 O’clock to 12 O’clock and he remained with us throughout the rehearsals. We learned a number of new things while working with him. The best thing is that Lucky Ali loves to do his songs differently, so every time you listen to his live performance you feel a freshness and originality,” adds Rohan.
“He trusted us and we are happy that the show was a hit with the audience. Still there is a long way to go, but getting associated with such highly talented people and sharing the stage with them, is a gratifying experience in itself,” adds Rohan.
In all, it was a band of eight people, seven from ‘The Fifths’ and one drummer who performed with Lucky Ali during his live performance at HiFi bar in Melbourne.
The Fifths was formed in 2012 as a natural amalgam of music crazy youngsters passionate to about leaving their mark as musicians. From Mozart to the Chilli Peppers to A R Rahman and Pandit Jasraj, band members say they are influenced by various artistes. They have performed at a number of events across Melbourne, with their more recent gigs including Oorja’s New Year dinner and dance party at the Hilton and CHOBAA’s biannual fundraiser.
Earlier this year, they had also played at the Udit Narayan concert in Melbourne.
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