The guitar player you didn't notice

Shankar with Bollywood singer Arijit Singh; they have been a team for four years touring and recording

On a winter afternoon, he would often slip out of college to reach the rehearsal pad on time. The neck of his guitar braved severe blows from office-goers in crowded metro compartments and public buses but his clock kept ticking; if he ran late for a session, he would inevitably delay the next. Thirty-year-old Aditya Shankar - the guitar player who started his journey by the tramlines and rustic buildings of North Kolkata in 2005 - would play for many bands (to earn money) in his juvenescence. His instrument probably raised its eyebrows when he agreed to play for free at a concert. The performance turned the tide for him and designed his future in Mumbai (his current base). He is now the official guitar player of ace Rock group Euphoria and Bollywood playback singer Arijit Singh.

Shankar (third from left) joined Euphoria after working with music composer Ranjit Barot during his early days

A shy person, Shankar is averse to being spotted. "Thankfully, people don't recognise me. They mob Arijit and Palash (Euphoria) whenever I am out for a coffee with them. But there have been times when a crowd gathered around me too. It really doesn't matter but my wife feels happy about it," says Shankar.

Aditya Shankar during a recording of the band's upcoming album

The axeman didn't have a guitar till 2009. He borrowed it from a friend till he could afford one. "With the help of the vocalist (Debapriyo Bagchi aka Bubble) of my first band (Nucleus) I bought my first guitar, Schecter Demon 7; before that, he was kind to lend me his gear (including a processor) for almost two years," he says.

The start with a free gig
While he figured chord progressions and solos for the group Strange Factory, one of his band mates informed him about singer Shilpa Rao, who was coming to Kolkata for a concert in 2011. She didn't have a guitar player. "I was asked if I would be interested to play, but there would be no money. She was supposed to do two or three songs. I agreed and went on with the gig," adds Shankar, who earned his ticket in the film industry from this engagement. Rao invited him to play with her band. "It was nice of her to call me over and help me bag work," he recalls.

Music directors in the Maximum City bought his talent at first go. All he had to do was to play his scratch recordings to the bigwigs when needed. "I met composer Amartya Rahut one day. He had composed songs for one of Shilpa's albums. It was a brilliantly arranged, melodic record. He asked me if I had a demo recording so that he could use me as a session player. We hit off well," says Shankar, who also worked with Ranjit Barot during his early years in the city.

Eventually, Rahut helped him settle down. "He is like an elder brother, right from finding a flat to work, he was there," he adds.

The guitar on MTV
Shankar's whammy effect reached MTV and he got his first break on television. He started playing for musicians on MTV Unplugged, a show with immense reach both on air and social media through their YouTube channel.

"At the same time, I was also working with Ranjit (Barot) sir. Euphoria happened a long while after but it is related. The band's keyboard player, Vinayak Gupta, was present on a shoot where I was playing. Later, he came to Ranjit sir's studio to dub a song. I played in that session. Happy with my work, he offered me the chance to play with Euphoria," reveals Shankar, who grew up on Dhoom (one of the most popular singles of the band in the ‘90s).

Big stage music
Shankar's shredding speed doubled once he was on stage with Euphoria. He had no qualms about dressing up the Euphoria way (white uniforms like that of a wedding band).

Apparently, vocalist Palash holds the group through motivational talks before every gig. "Before every show, he would get the band into a huddle and give a pep talk. Every time, it is different. Essentially, it would be about somebody completing a certain number of years with the band or about someone who played well in the last gig. He would have a message for every member of the band," says Shankar. He finds it difficult to shuttle between Arijit and Euphoria's concerts. "It is hard but somehow, it works out," he laughs.

He sends out a substitute guitar player every time a gig with Arijit comes calling. "The priority is with Arijit because I joined him before I joined Euphoria."

New album
Shankar has a distinct Carnatic Classical touch but he hasn't applied his talent in mainstream music till date. He is keen to unleash a glimpse of his monstrous side in Euphoria's new album currently under construction. "It will have my influences as well as the band's, but for the first time, I will be adding my touch. One can't opt for a full-fledged experimental sound in a commercial album but there will be elements," he promises.

Shankar is also playing sessions with Rahut, Mithoon, Pritam, Salim-Sulaiman and AR Rahman. But after stints with Rock bands churning out classics like Sultans of Swing and Cocaine, it will be fascinating to watch him crack a new drug in the Indian music scene.