The Guitar Channel

Videos: Prashant Aswani on "Sonically Speaking"

Three cool videos of Prashant Aswani discussing his latest album Sonically Speaking.

Sonically Speaking Tones

"Drive"

"Make It 14"

See also:
The Guitar Channel Interview: Prashant Aswani

My Interview with Prashant Aswani

I sat down with guitarist Prashant Aswani at this year's Winter NAMM show for an in-depth discussion about his latest album Sonically Speaking, his writing process, his technique, and much more. See link below.

 

The Guitar Channel Interview: Prashant Aswani

Prashant Aswani Interview for Guitar International

Matt Warnock has posted a new interview with Prashant Aswani over at Guitar International. Aswani discusses his gear, his new album Sonically Speaking, and other topics.

 

Guitar International: Prashant Aswani Interview

Favorite Albums of 2010

Looking back over this past year, I really believe 2010 has been the most incredible year in music I've ever experienced. It's certainly been the best year I've seen since I started The Guitar Channel in 2004. On one hand, I've never witnessed as much amazing live music as I have this year. There were the great Winter NAMM gigs (such as OHM w/ Mike Kenneally, Alex Machacek w/ Ric Fierabracci, the Bombastic Meatbats, and more), awesome Chicago gigs by Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, and others, and of course the festivals - starting with the incredible Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival in May, the legend-packed Crossroads Guitar Festival in June, and the capper: the amazing New Universe Music Festival last month.

Then of course, there were the great albums of 2010. And there were a lot of them. Here are my favorite albums that were released this year, in no particular order.

Alex Machacek featuring Marco Minnemann - 24 Tales (Review)

A remarkable disc featuring music Machacek composed over a 52-minute Minnemann drum solo.

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak - Renegade Creation (Review)

Awesome blues rock super group that brings together guitar legends Landau and Ford. Killer playing; amazing guitar tones.

Ray Riendeau - Atmospheres

This one came out of nowhere and really grabbed me. Great collection of fusion tunes with a killer guest list that includes Alex Machacek, Jeff Kollman, Greg Koch, Nat Janoff, and many others.

Lenny White - Anomaly

Fantastic old-school jazz rock album from the legendary drummer. Includes guests Jimmy Herring and David Gilmore.

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Tasty, melodic instrumental rock disc with killer playing and writing. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome throwback fusion with great grooves. Features Jeff Kollman on guitar.

Charlie Hunter - Public Domain

This may seem like an out-of-left-field choice, but I can't get enough of this album. Features Hunter playing solo versions of old public domain classics chosen by his grandfather.

Other favorites from 2010:

Kirk Fletcher - My Turn
John McLaughlin - To The One (Review)
John Czajkowski and Marco Minnemann - West ZooOpolis
Steve Lukather - All's Well That Ends Well
Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (Review)
Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom
Michael Dolce - Everything Til Now
Jeff Richman - Like That (Interview)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Prashant Aswani Interview for Guitar Noize

Jon over at Guitar Noize has a nice interview up with Prashant Aswani. Prashant discusses his new album Sonically Speaking.

Guitar Noize: Interview - Prashant Aswani

Current Listening (and Reading... and Viewing)

Here's what I've been listening to, and reading, and watching lately...

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome funky throwback fusion. Killer version of "Moby Dick." With Jeff Kollman on guitar.

 

Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful Volume 1

Great writing and playing with an incredible guest list. Includes Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, Steve Topping, Steve Hackett, and many others.

Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom

Excellent fusion of Indian music and western jazz harmony. Guests include Wayne Krantz, John McLaughlin, Mattias IA Eklund, Matt Garrison, and others.

 

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Highly melodic instrumental rock album with great playing from all involved. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

 

Anil Prasad - Innerviews: Music Without Borders (Book)

Excellent collection of musician interviews from Innerviews founder Anil Prasad. The diverse list of featured artists includes John McLaughlin, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Chuck D, McCoy Tyner, Bela Fleck, and many others. A great read.

 

Eric Clapton - Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 (Blu-ray)

DVD release of this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Loaded with great performances and backstage footage.

Review: Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking

Prashant Aswani’s latest album Sonically Speaking (Exotic Rhythms) features a rich set of melodic instrumental rock fusion songs that not only show his strengths as a guitarist and composer, but as a producer and arranger as well. The album is full of exceptional playing by both Aswani, and the lineup of great musicians he has brought along to support him. Aswani is joined on this release by Rhonda Smith (Jeff Beck, Prince) on bass, and Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder, Tribal Tech, Steve Lukather) on drums. Abhijit Banerjee also appears on the album playing the Tabla, an Indian percussion instrument. This proves to be a fantastic personnel choice as Banerjee adds a highly distinctive dimension to the album. Guitarists Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano are also onboard turning in some killer guest solos.

Sonically Speaking is Aswani’s first full album of new material since 2000’s Duality (in 2007, Aswani re-released his 1998 debut Revelation as Revelation: Fully Loaded with new artwork and three new tracks). It’s also the first album in his catalog that he’s produced solely on his own. And while the playing and writing on this album are certainly top-notch, Aswani’s production work is equally impressive. He uses a multitude of layered guitar tones on most tracks to give the album a deep rich sound. The guitar parts themselves are arranged with a similar approach - many songs feature multiple clean rhythm tracks mixed together in such a way that you often forget there is no keyboard player on the album. Banerjee’s Tabla work is a major factor in the overall sound of Sonically Speaking as well. His contributions not only aid Aswani’s effort to lend the album some shades of his Indian roots - they also give the entire disc a unique sound that helps to separate it from the pack of often “cookie cutter” sounding instrumental rock guitar albums. Aswani’s highly melodic approach to writing is unique for this genre as well. Though there’s a motherlode of complex playing on Sonically Speaking, nearly all of the main song melodies are simple, hummable, and very catchy. As a result, this disc is full of tunes that stick in your head.

From a guitar geek perspective, Sonically Speaking is a goldmine of killer tones and state-or-the-art playing. Aswani’s lead tone on the disc is buttery smooth - warmly overdriven without a hint of fuzz, while his clean tones range from Strat-like snappy to more glassy, atmospheric sounds. As a guitarist, Aswani comes from the Greg Howe / Brett Garsed school of rock-meets-fusion. He has the touch and feel a rock player, yet has no trouble navigating through changes while dropping in cool intervallic and outside ideas. He also has a highly developed hybrid-picking technique that allows him to execute complex legato runs that are smooth yet punchy.

Sonically Speaking opens with “Stephanie” - a light, airy ballad that features Banerlee’s Tabla as the sole percussion. This tune is a great example of Aswani’s aforementioned production skills; multiple clean guitar tracks are used to give the piece a big, lush sound. Things get heavier with “Drive” which has Aswani sharing the spotlight with Aussie guitarist Brett Garsed on the cool Phrygian-based solo section. Garsed is great as always, peeling off plenty of his signature spidery legato lines. Aswani takes a more aggressive approach in his solo by adding some wild tapped licks and whammy accents. This tune also has one of the best riffs on the album, and features a nice bass break from Rhonda Smith. “Drive” is followed by one of the most interesting tracks on the album - the prog-like “Make It 14.” With its eastern-tinged melody and rapid mood shifts, this is one of the most exotic tunes on the disc. In his solo, Aswani plays some great dynamic phrases over the changes. This song ends with a wah-wah based rhythm part that is one of the coolest grooves on the record.

“11 Miles” is a bluesy power ballad of sorts with a nice odd meter A section. Aswani’s solo on this one is loaded with smooth sixteenth note lines. Other ballads on the disc include “Pardon Me” - which prominently features the Tabla, and includes some of Aswani’s fastest runs, and “Rain” - another song (like “Stephanie”) where all of the percussion is handled by the Tabla. This piece also has some great harmony and acoustic guitar parts. Aswani is definitely at his jazziest on this track, both with his lines and his tone.

The heaviest songs on the album are “5 am” and “Narrow Path.” On “5 am,” the core tune  features hard distorted riffs over a backdrop of Police-esque clean chord stabs. Aswani uncorks a killer solo on this one over a cool “fusiony” chord progression. “Narrow Path” is Aswani’s most “metallic” song on the disc - this tune is dripping with middle eastern vibes in its heavy riffs and melody.

“Shades of Gray” is probably Sonically Speaking’s most commercial-sounding track. The song has a great singing melody, and a pair of cool solos from Aswani (first with a clean tone during the main solo section - a nice change of pace - then distorted for the outro). The album closes with “Pure at Heart” which features Rob Caggiano from Anthrax contributing a wicked solo and some melody lines. Caggiano’s wild aggression provides a nice counter to Aswani’s more even-keeled approach. The song - and the album - fittingly ends with the Tabla right out front.

With Sonically Speaking, Aswani has crafted a deep album that subtly harkens back to his Indian roots, while showing off his considerable playing, writing, and producing chops. The album is loaded with great examples of his cutting edge technique, and fine contributions from his well chosen supporting lineup. Highly recommended.


Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Exotic Rhythms)

Personnel:

Prashant Aswani - Guitars
Rhonda Smith - Bass
Joey Heredia - Drums
Abhijit Banerjee - Tabla
Brett Garsed - First guitar solo on “Drive”
Rob Caggiano - First guitar solo and first trailer melody on “Pure at Heart”

Tracklisting:

1. Stephanie
2. Drive
3. Make It 14
4. 11 Miles
5. 5 Am
6. Pardon Me
7. Narrow Path
8. Rain
9. Shades of Gray
10. Pure at Heart

 

Rich

List all reviews

 

And The Winners Are...

Rosh Roslin and Marc Boggs! Rosh and Marc have each won a signed copy of the new Prashant Aswani album Sonically Speaking. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!

Prashant Aswani - ESP Guitars Playoff Video

Official promo video for Prashant Aswani's ESP Guitars Playoff contest at The Public Record. Prashant's new album Sonically Speaking is now available. Look for my review soon.

Win a signed copy of Prashant Aswani's new album!

Time for another giveaway contest, and this one is really cool. Prashant Aswani, in association with The Guitar Channel, will be giving away two signed copies of his new disc Sonically Speaking. The album will be released on November 1st, and features the stellar lineup of Rhonda Smith on bass, Joey Heredia on drums, Abhijit Banerjee on tabla, and special guest guitarists Brett Garsed, and Rob Caggiano. I've had the album for a couple of days now, and can tell you this is one awesome rock fusion disc. Lots of great melodies and killer guitar playing.

For your chance to win, send an email to guitarchannelcontest@gmail.com with the subject Prashant Aswani CD Giveaway. On Monday November 1st, I will choose two emails at random and announce the winners on the site. One entry per person please; past Guitar Channel contest winners are not eligible. Good Luck!

 

Video: Prashant Aswani - "Shades of Gray"

Guitarist Prashant Aswani performing "Shades of Gray" from his new album Sonically Speaking (coming Nov 1st). This clip is from a recent LA gig, and includes Jeff Marshall - Guitar, Daniel Pearson - Bass, and Jake Hayden - Drums.

Prashant Aswani "Sonically Speaking" Contest Presented by The Public Record

PRESS RELEASE

Sonically Speaking is about to prove why Prashant is a triple threat – as a player, a writer, and this time around a producer. Ten brilliant compositions and Prashant’s signature guitar playing make this third album his best yet. The new album features, Rhonda Smith (Jeff Beck, Prince) on Bass and Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder, Tribal Tech, Steve Lukather) on Drums. His Indian roots shine through with the addition of Abhijit Banerjee on Tabla.

Starting November 1, 2010, The Public Record will host a contest in conjunction with the release of Sonically Speaking (http://thepublicrecord.com/prashant). Fans are invited to perform their best guitar solo on “Shades of Gray”. Prizes include guitars, effects, strings and much more. Sponsored by ESP Guitars, Dean Markley Strings, Maxon Effects Pedals, Dimarzio Pickups, and Spectraflex Cables.

ABOUT THE PUBLIC RECORD
The Public Record is a revolutionary new music site where musicians and fans interact with the biggest names in music through a unique participatory experience. Featured artists have included: Steve Vai, Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee, and many more. Fans are directly involved in the recording, mixing and creative process with a chance to appear on official worldwide music, and video releases.

A 2011 tour is currently being planned for Europe and Japan. For more information
please contact:

Prashant Aswani
Email: prashant@prashantaswani.com
thepublicrecord.com/prashant
prashantaswani.com
myspace.com/prashantaswani