There is an immersive, almost paradoxical magic that occurs when you strip away the electronic armour of modern music production and rely entirely on the human body to fill a room. In an era dominated by synthesised beats and engineered tracks, a cappella remains one of the purest litmus tests of musical performance. Three decades in, Penn Masala, the world’s first and premier South Asian a cappella act, still sounds like the future. Born at the University of Pennsylvania, the student-led group began as an experiment in cultural translation. Their arrangements stitch together Bollywood songs with western pop hits across multiple languages, occupying a fluid space between Indian playback nostalgia and global chartbusters. Over the years, that instinct has earned them more than 200K YouTube subscribers, nearly 70K Spotify listeners and performances everywhere from the White House to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Crucially, Penn Masala is a living, evolving entity. Unlike standard bands with a permanent line-up, the group’s membership constantly changes as veteran members graduate and new members enter through a rigorous audition process. The current roster brings together Aryaman Meswani, Gaurish Gaur, Avik Agarwal, Sauman Das, Aadi Shah, Ram Pantula, Advaith Satish, Nick Chang, Aarav Doshi, Rishabh Tole, Anay Apte and Jaydon Gollapudi. Yet despite the revolving door structure, the members insist that the core philosophy has barely changed since the group’s earliest days. Marking their 30th anniversary, the group is making a return to India with a tour that stops in Bengaluru. We sit down with Penn Masala president Aadi Shah, music director Avik Agarwal and member Jaydon Gollapudi to chat about social media virality, their upcoming 13th studio album and why the group still sees itself as a work in progress.
Penn Masala is officially celebrating 30 years now. What has stayed completely constant through all these generations of members?
Aadi Shah: I think the biggest thing that has stayed constant is the hard work and the desire to spread South Asian music and our identity to a broader audience. From the beginning, our founders in 1996 were going door to door selling CDs. Today, the platforms have changed, but the mindset is the same. Instead of selling physical copies, we are promoting music digitally, through social media, streaming platforms and live performances.
You’re making your return to India and Bengaluru is one of your tour stops. What can audiences expect this time around?
Avik Agarwal: We are really excited to come back to Bengaluru. We performed there a couple of years ago and it was honestly one of our favourite shows. This time, the audiences can expect music from the new album — 1996 — along with some older classics and fan favourites.
Your latest album is titled 1996, which directly mirrors the year Penn Masala was first conceived. Why did you choose that title?
Jaydon Gollapudi: This year marks Penn Masala’s 30th anniversary, so 1996 felt like the perfect title. It is a way of paying homage to where the group began and to all the alumni who helped build the group. For our 30th Year Spring Show this year, around 80 out of 100 alumni came back. Seeing generations of members return from all over the world really reminded us how much history this group has.
A lot of listeners associate your sound primarily with mashups, but you also have original tracks. Is this current generation actively interested in continuing that writing tradition?
Avik: Yes, definitely. Original music has always been an important part of Penn Masala’s identity. On this album, we have an original song named Innocent Love and we are really excited to see how fans respond to it. Original music allows us to tell our own story while still staying true to the Penn Masala sound, which blends English, Hindi and a cappella.
Given that there are absolutely no instruments on stage, what makes a live Penn Masala performance unique?
Aadi: Every sound the audience hears is coming from our voices. There are no instruments, so the percussion, bass, background harmonies and lead vocals are all created by the members. When it all comes together, it creates a really full sound.
What’s next for Penn Masala after this tour and album?
Avik: After the India tour and the release of our new album, that doesn’t mean our work has stopped. We’re constantly making new music and short-form content as well. Our ultimate goal is to kee p pushing South Asian fusion music across the world through new covers, originals and live performances.
INR 499 onwards. May 22, 7.30pm. At Good Shepherd Auditorium, Museum Road.
(Anoushka Kundu is an intern at Indulge, Bengaluru)
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