Dhruv Visvanath: I write songs about personal experiences

One-man bands are hard to come by and Dhruv Visvanath is a welcome breath of fresh air in the indie music scene.
The Delhi-based percussive guitarist is one of the best-known guitarists in the indie scene. He owns nine guitars, one of which he gave to charity. Dhruv is also a grade 4 pianist, putting him up there in the league of indie musicians today.He was recently named one of ‘30 Great Guitarists Under 30’ in the world by an American guitar magazine, alongside artistes like Ed Sheeran, Newton Faulkner and Sungha Jung. Plus, he was the only Indian on the list. At 24, Dhruv has already completed over 300 performances and is a regular in the festival line-up.
With his debut album Orion set to release in Delhi on September 19, we quizzed Dhruv on his sound. Says he, “I've been playing the guitar for a while now, and I'm completely self-taught. I play the acoustic guitar adding a percussive element to it. I sing and beat my guitar while I do it. I write songs about personal experiences, and I love trying to create music that seems larger than life. With the album Orion in particular, I've tried to create a modern opera of sorts, and tried thinking outside the box when it comes to making stories for my songs. I love writing music, and I hope that my work truly represents the way that i feel about music.”
The album is a 14-track rock opera, with a striking singer songwriter aspect to it. The single Redemption is already out digitally. Enigma has a noir smoke-filled music video that reminds you of the 1920s speakeasies from the jazz era. The album Orion has been mixed by Keshav Dhar from progressive rock band Skyharbor and Viraj Mohan from electronic project Karajimo and mastered by Miles Showell from the prestigious Abbey Road Studios, UK. Orion is nested under VLT (Vishal Likes This), which is curated by Pentagram frontman and Bollywood composer Vishal Dadlani to activate and support emerging independent artistes in India. Says Vishal, “VLT will put its stamp on music that I personally love, and bring it to the people. Dhruv is a brilliant singer-songwriter with a truly unique sound, and his album is a collection of 14 tunes that I absolutely love.”
Ask Dhruv what kind of music he personally likes, and he says, “I love all kinds of music, be it metal or pop even contemporary jazz. I am a huge fan of bands like Alter Bridge, The Reign of Kindo and Foals. I enjoy listening to percussive guitarists like Jon Gomm, Andy Mckee, Antoine Dufour, Craig D'Andrea and Maneli Jamal. My ultimate favourite guitarist is Erik Mongrain. He’s the reason I started playing the guitar the way I do. I love listening to Phil Collins, his riffs and ability to write memorable songs is something I have grown up with. In The Air Tonight is one of my favourites.”