Introducing Anushka Manchanda.

What a sweet and sexy voice this young starlet has. Heralding from an Indian pop girl group called VIVA, now disbanded, Anushka lends her voice to singing songs for Bollywood movies and doing live performances. Her mobile phone seems never to stop ringing and her work commitment involve a busy travel schedule, performing live around India and also working as a photographic model.


Photo by Nitin Patel


The only hurdle has been trying to get hold of this elusive and understandably busy talent. Unfortunately it seems that I may be left with a half complete song, needing one more recording session with Anushka to complete the track.........I got to say it's been a frustrating process trying to get hold of Anushka, let alone getting her to find the time for that final session. Our first recording session was constantly interrupted by her mobile phone, which she couldn't bear to switch off.

There's still some time so I remain hopeful...........

(Update: Unfortunately I wasn't able to pin down Anushka for that elusive final recording, looks like the track I had in mind will be getting reworked a little.)


Photo by Nitin Patel

Listen to a preview of the track "Closer to You".
To be release on the forthcoming 2nd album by Gavri.

Introducing Indira Naik.

A singer who’s voice is an instrument of beauty and power, evoking images of modern grace and old-world mysticism. Classically trained in the Patiala Gayaki (Hindustani classical music), Indira’s voice is a tribute to age old traditions set against the backdrop of our times.

Having the pleasure and experience of working with this gifted artist was certainly one of the highlights of my trip to India. Her generous spirit became evident when we got a call inviting myself and my two music colleagues to her home for dinner, and requesting Paul to bring his guitar and for me to bring my recording gear. There will be a group of musician’s, all friends of Indira, coming to dinner and for the Jam session that is to follow. Some of the instruments include Flute, Sarod, Tabla, Harmonium, Violin Guitar and Vocals by Indira…………I’ll be updating this article after the event…………..stay tuned.

Tabla Sessions – Performed by Ojas Adhiya.

While at Santa Cruz railway station (Mumbai) I had a chance meeting with a local photographer, Nitin Patel, who I later realised as being a very helpful and talented young guy. I was in the middle of shooting some time-lapse 8mm film, collecting footage for an upcoming Gavri video clip. After explaining to him that I was in India looking for musicians to record with, he mentioned he had some contacts and may be able to help………



A few days later I was invited by Nitin to go to an Indian classical music recital. This was where I had the pleasure to first hear the inspiring talents of 19-year-old Ojas Adhjya, an extremely talented Tabla player. After the concert I was introduced to a young guy who kindly offered to provide me with Ojas’s phone number.





Again, just a few days later, Nitin calls me with the number and the rest is history. We organized to meet at my hotel and do the recording session in the hotel room. It was an interesting process as the recording session was a combined effort between two other musicians and friends, Paul George & Carey O’Sullivan from Tijuana Cartel. We all contributed tracks for Ojas to perform to, and given the limited time and resources the results were great. Just one way a chance encounter can lead to a privileged experience…………Thanks Ojas…………and Nitin.

The Usual Suspects.

From left to right : 

Chirag Katti : an incredible talent on the Sitar. He performs at Indian Classical music concerts all over India and was one of our session musicians. 

Paul George : A very gifted and talented musician / guitarist. Paul's developed a style of playing all his own, using Gypsy scale with hints of Jazz and Classical. He's also the front man for Australian band Tijuana Cartel. 

Carey O' Sullivan : the other key member of Tijuana Cartel. Carey looks after much of the production side of the band and is also a bit of a genius when it comes to music programming & manipulation. A jack-of-all-trades and master of many. 

Ojas Adhiya : A truly awesome Tabla player and one of our session musicians while in Mumbai. I meet Ojas at an India Classical Music recital in Mumbai. He plays a lot of concerts with his friend Chirag who plays Sitar. Another musician told me that Ojas is in the top 20 Tabla players in Mumbai. That's saying a lot considering he's 19 years old and there's over 18 million people in Mumbai...... with a lot of Tabla players. 

Robert Chomicz : That's me, the guy behind the music of Gavri. I was very fortunate to be invited to India by my two friends Paul and Carey, they were about to embark on a three month residency working at the Marriot Hotel...... playing under the guise of Audio Shaman. Our objective was to work on our music projects and to share in the process of working and recording with some of the local musicians in Mumbai.

Check out the Youtube video below of Ojas's Tabla performance.