My Compelling Story

Empty Café is a fusion of cultures and genres of music, originating in opposite corners of the world. It started off in the winter of 2007, when Vinay Kaushal, accidentally, went to college one day to find that flutist Gandhaar Amin who studied in the same class as him. When they found out that their musical tastes were surprisingly similar, they started playing together in Vinay’s bedroom. In less than a month, they had already made a song together, which they still claim to be the best song they have ever made – ‘Wounded’. With influences ranging from John Scofield to John Petrucci, Vinay’s repertoire covers genres of blues, jazz and funk. He started learning guitar in school, and then it became a part of his life that was big enough to take up as a profession. Gandhaar has a family with a rich musical tradition. Having a father as professional classical musician, he did not really have a choice but to learn music. He began learning Indian classical music on the bamboo flute at the age of 5. Jethro Tull’s classic song 'Empty Café' inspired the name of the band. It is a tongue-in-cheek take on the expectation that their music is not so bad, that a café goes empty. Empty Café, as a band, has been determined to create a new image for ‘fusion music’, which is very unlike from the sound that most people associate it with. Rather than just sticking them onto each other, they have faith in Expectedly fusing two genres and instruments together, superficially. Empty Café is a regular fixture at a lot of LIVE music venues in Pune and Mumbai. They also performed at the NH7 Weekender Music Festival 2010. In 2010, they were invited for the Ladakh Confluence, which was a big honour for them. Accompanying them are drummer/percussionist Shreyas Iyengar and bassist Among Jamir.