Striking Gold

Back to perform in India after four years,Goldspots Siddhartha Khosla is never too far from his Indian roots.

If you grew up in India during the 1980s and early 90s,youre likely to remember the fizzy,orange drink Gold Spot that was almost a permanent fixture in most childrens hands. One such child was Siddhartha Khosla.

Growing up in the United States,Khosla,a first-generation Indian-American,was sent back to India every summer vacation to spend time with his cousins. And Gold Spot became his favourite. Many years later during which time the drink was discontinued and most people had forgotten all about it after attending university in London,Khosla moved to Los Angeles and started a band. He called this band Goldspot. The name carries a nostalgia for me, he says.

Today,nearly a decade on,Goldspot is a critically acclaimed band with two album releases to their name and a large fan following in the United States and India. Currently in India after four years for a multi-city tour,Goldspot will perform this evening at Blue Frog,Mumbai,following which the band travels to Pune on January 25,Hyderabad on January 27 and end the tour in Bangalore on January 28. Their Lucknow and Delhi gigs earlier this month were received well. A packed week,but Khosla says the feeling of playing in India is like reliving a dream over and over again.

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Clearly,Khosla is never too far from his Indian roots. Last year,they released a remake of the iconic Bollywood song Eena Meena Deeka,for a David Kaplan-directed film,Todays Special. Needless to say,the song soon became a big hit,in both USA and India. The producers approached us to do a soundtrack for the film, Khosla says,speaking of how the remake was born. They needed something comical and funny for a scene and it all just came together pretty quickly, adds Khosla.

The bands sophomore album,And the Elephant is Dancing,was released in 2010 and the music from this and their first,Tally of the Yes Men,has earned Khoslas music comparisons to that of George Harrisons. As his musical influences he cites The Beatles,Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi,the latter being artistes whose music he grew up listening to at home. I would listen to the music that my parents brought back from India, he says. I absolutely worshipped Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi.

While influences of these classical Indian musicians are apparent in Goldspots music especially in the Hindi versions of some of their tracks,such as Friday – the pop sound of And the Elephant is Dancing is reminiscent of the music of pop icons,The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Not surprising,then,to learn that long-time producer of The Beach Boys,Jeff Peters,is also a close friend of Khoslas and produced this album. He brings that Californian soul to the music, he says,of Peters contribution to the album. Hes really helped with everything,including the production, adds Khosla.

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Striking Gold

Back to perform in India after four years,Goldspots Siddhartha Khosla is never too far from his Indian roots.

Back to perform in India after four years,Goldspots Siddhartha Khosla is never too far from his Indian roots.