Nayar Collective embraces the world with compassion, seeing its flaws and finding light and hope within them. Deep, emotive vocals hover over delicate guitars, creating a soul-stirring chamber-folk that offers warmth, solace and inspiration. These are songs for peace, in a world where it is hard to find.
Nayar Collective is the new project of Vedantha Kumar, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and co-founder of indie-folk trio August and After. It sees an evolution in the music with simplicity at its heart, cutting through the complexity of our times. It is a collective in the truest sense; collaboration is at its core, and the love with which this happens is it its primary creative act.
Introduce the band:
Vedantha Kumar - Founder/songwriter/singer (Indian)
Karl D'Souza - Piano (Indian)
Jamil de Dominicis - Guitar (Italian)
Inês Delgado - Violin (Portuguese)
3 words to describe you:
Idealistic, vivacious, tender
Describe your sound:
Sincere and soulful, with a spiritual tinge. There is a lot of alliteration in the lyrics, so that description fits. Recently a few people have compared the vocals to Anohni & the Johnsons, with the instrumentation leaning more towards Fleet Foxes. I enjoy some of the genre descriptions we receive from critics, my favourites being: "adult contemporary" (make us sound not safe for work!).
Describe the moment you knew that you wanted to pursue music:
This is a moment that recurs. The most recent was during an impromtu jam session on a warm summer evening. Some of the other artists were musical legends. A Tracy Chapman lyric swirled around my head ("I had a feeling that belonged" from Fast Car). I felt I was with my tribe. The earliest such moment was probably coming down the stairs as a toddler, hearing Fast Car seeping out of the cassette player. That also happens to be my first ever memory.
How does your heritage impact your art?
During much of my musical journey, I could not find a way to reconcile my songwriting style, with my Indian heritage. I felt in tension with myself and this was difficult.
This has changed in the process of developing Nayar Collective. Our music certainly has roots in a range of Western cultures. However, it also draws upon my ancestral lineage.
For example, I see how my lyrics are inspired by the simplicity of those I read in my childhood, such as R K Narayan, and the spiritual traditions from which I come. I think of our song "So I Pray" in that context.
I'm also increasingly drawn towards bigger and deeper vocals, inspired by the likes of Parvathy Baul and my ancestral tradition of expansive singing. And I see how the repetition in our songs has its roots in forms of traditional Indian music. For example, "Lego" has the same chord pattern the entire way through.
What moment are you most proud of in your music journey so far?
I want to talk about something relating to this channel. Growing up, there were virtually no British-Indian artists. It was a struggle to perservere with singing and songwriting in the indie-folk scene while being the odd one out, knowing people didn't "see" me as fitting in. Even when our outward success and recognition grew, and we would be stopped on the streets or listened to millions of times, I found it difficult to own "musician" as an identify of mine.
Recently, an amazing musician that has featured on this channel - Ahana - told me she had been drawn to my old band, August and After, partly because it showed that one could be an Asian musician in this genre of music. This made me so happy. It made all those moments of doubt and perseverance feel worth it.
Interestingly, over the past two months, I met both Anoushka Shankar and Nitin Sawnhey. I had drawn on their example to help me realise it is possible! I love that we can all be there for each other. And I love that you have set up this platform through which Asian musicians can support each other and realise they are not alone :)
Your next music goal:
I'm looking forward to recording a lot of material that we've been working on!
If you could collaborate with anyone, who and why?
Nitin Sawnhey. He seems to bring out the best in everyone he collaborates with. And he has such musical dexterity, so I would love the adventure of creating music with him, not knowing where it ends up.
Your favourite song/lyrics:
This is tough! Right now it is probably: Postcards from Italy by Beirut
I got married recently and we performed it during the ceremony. To me, the words speak of an almost reckless idealism. I love how unrestrained they are, the total lack of nuance or restraint. I think we need more of that!
The main bit is as follows: "And I would love to see that day, that day was mine, when she would marry me outside, with the willow trees and play the songs we made, what made me so, and I would love to see that day, that day was mine"
3 songs you're listening to right now:
Olafur Arnaluds & Talos - We Didn't Know We Were Ready
A. R. Rahman - Maahi Ve
Ahana - In the Air
Your community shout out:
Nitin Sawnhey (@nitinsawhney) because his combination of deeply moving music and political activism has been such an inspiration to me.
Anything else you'd like to share:
Our latest single, Little Boxes is out now on all streaming platforms. Follow us to find out about a series of intimate concerts - the best kind! - we will hold in the Autumn/Winter :)
