That’s my music,” said guitarist Amyt Datta as he played — with Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet — at Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club in Calcutta a few weeks ago. The venue shook with the team’s pulsating energy and gave the audience some food for thought once it was over. They spent a wholesome Sunday night and went back with the memory of what they had heard — powerful instrumental pieces. Carefully crafted, attentively thought out and well-executed, that’s what Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet is about... members Sambit Chatterjee on drums, Samrat Mukherjee on keys and Aakash Ganguly on bass displayed with the veteran guitarist’s composition. Every guitar riff seemed like completing a puzzle. Amyt Datta calls it the “beast of a band” and very rightly so. Their music emanates the kind of energy that cannot be contained. Instrumental pieces aren’t just about love and poetry, songs of happiness. Some reflect the most mundane attributes of life, sometimes even the bristles and thorns in them.
The setlist comprised pieces like Black Pages, Pulse, Erraticus, Stain, Introit, Camelia (a solo piece by Amyt Datta), Ironic Bironic, Red Plant, Remembrance, Dark City and the concluding number The Chase. The Chase requires a special mention for its rhythm and power. The Telegraph spoke to the band members.
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“Camellia is one of my favourite tracks from the setlist. It’s just a couple of minutes of playing the guitar and it’s great to stop playing for a bit, focus and intently listen to Amytda. We get to trace how he paints the story from one side of the setlist to the other. Camellia was placed in the middle of the setlist — where we shift from one kind of energy to another, between which Camellia is the bridge. The rest of the time I’m listening and conscious and aware, but Camellia is where we forget everything else, and just listen and that gives us perspective to practice and it sets the mood,” said Sambit.
“For me, the music setup of this band is very unique and it’s not a regular sound per se. Playing with Amytda is like a different experience, I’m learning so much. The energy we bring out is more like a controlled demolition,” said Aakash.
“We have a place we go for coffee after rehearsals, and that’s an important part for all of us now. More than the coffee, we enjoy the breather from extensive rehearsals. We talk about rock music, what we’ve played and how we can improve. I think Dariole has to be written somewhere in the books of our Quartet. Amytda is the driving force and three of us connect very deeply with each other, which I feel is important to play together and make music,” said Samrat.