The story of the band Blackstratblues started in the year 2004, after Warren Mendonsa moved to New Zealand, when he along with his brother Zorran recorded their first album in their garage studio. Later, the Mumbai-based band developed into a quartet — with the addition of Jai Row Kavi on drums, Adi Mistry on bass and Beven Fonseca on keyboards. Warren (39) continued focusing on releasing albums, until in 2009, the band got an invitation to perform at Mithibai College in Mumbai for their annual festival. “(Till then) I hadn’t thought of the project as being anything other than a studio project,” says Warren. The performance went well, and shortly after, they had gigs in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
However, the band could not include Chennai in their schedule since then, until now. “We have been looking forward to playing in Chennai for a long time, as many of our listeners have requested us to perform there,” Warren continues, adding that they will be playing a mix of new and older material during their debut performance in the city next week.
Their previous album, The Last Analog Generation, performed well, having attained the top spot in 2017 on iTunes on the day of its release, beating the likes of other albums like Mersal (by AR Rahman) and the eponymous third studio album of American girl band Fifth Harmony, their first one after the exit of Camila Cabello (of Havana fame).
The band has been a regular performer in festivals like NH7 and Sulafest, while Warren has worked with musicians like Vishal-Shekar and Shankar-Ehaaan-Loy. He has also featured on Coke Studio, in collaborations with musicians like Karsh Kale and Amit Trivedi.
With their music being a blend of blues, rock and ’70s psychedelia, Blackstratblues recently showed that they were ready to go beyond their usual soundscape. “Most of our collaborations have been with singers, since we are mainly an instrumental group. But, we did do an evening last year with Indian classical musicians flautist Ashwin Srinivasan and sarangi player Sabir Khan at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai. This put a unique spin on our material,” shares Warren, adding that he has been influenced by The Beatles since the age of eight.
Currently in the process of recording their newest album, Warren says that one can expect it to release next year. “The bass and drums are done. We have a few guitar and keyboard overdubs left before we’re ready to mix,” he says.
December 18. At Museum Theatre. Tickets available online.