Hyd Chord-ial

That's the genesis of their debut album Samhitha brought to you by Times Music. But as they say, neither their coming together nor the samhitha or the bringing together of two distinct classical styles of carnatic and western music, would have been possible without the expertise of their guru Sangeetacharya Dr Vyzarsu Balasubrahmanyam, a classical musician, musicologist and composer of high repute.

So, what's their kind of fusion? It is a classical cohesion of elements as disparate as varnams, kritis and tillanas of carnatic music and western orchestration. And contrary to the popular belief that classical music has a limited appeal due to its complexity, this bold experimentation is both contemplative and energetic. The group in one breath claims it has caught the imagination of music lovers across tastes and age groups. And as Avinash the lyricist of the group puts it, "Our classical fusion tracks are entertaining to all classes of audience but particularly to young people."

And to put all doubt and cynicism to rest, all the eight members of the band are well grounded in both light and classical styles of music. And young as they are, they already have the distinction of releasing a private album or as Pranavi reels off, "Deepu, Harshika,Chaitanya and I have done solo and duets for many Tollywood films like Happy Days, Yamadonga, Sri Ramadasu, Notebook and Vinayakadu." No mean feat this!

The group has come together with the express purpose of showcasing local talent and to change the present trend in Tollywood of what they call "outsourcing talent" from other states. "We would like Tollywood to draw on local talent and would also like to take our music to the world stage, says Raghuram.

And if the overwhelming response to the concert and the presence of music stalwarts like MM Keervani, Koti and Dr Yella Venkateswara Rao is anything to go by, this may not be so distant a dream!