We love experimenting with new instruments: Clean Bandit's Jack Patterson

(From left) Molly Fletcher, Grace Chatto, Luke Patterson and Yasmin Green in performance

Somewhere along the rocky winding roads of the East Khasi Hills in Shillong, we find ourselves cruising between two armoured jeeps in the Meghalaya Chief Minister's convoy. In the dense fog of the hills, lit only by the strobing red-and-blue beacon lights, the convoy is picking up speed by the minute to track down bandits - the chart-topping kind, of course. It is British electronic music group Clean Bandit, known for hits like Rockabye Baby and Symphony, who are gearing to take stage at the two-day long Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival that was also host to old-school icons like Akon and Boney M.

Confetti fills the air at the festival

Backstage before the performance, frontman Jack Patterson is unusually calm for a man who will be juggling four instruments, including a keytar and an electronic flute, in just about a minute. "We love experimenting with new instruments. In the studio you can record and layer your sounds. On stage, we must find new ways to recreate it," he shares when we reunite after their audio-visual spectacle onstage. Rather Be, the track that got the Shillong crowd cheering the loudest, he reveals, was recorded using Queen frontman late Freddie Mercury's old Fazioli grand piano housed by Metropolis Studios in London, and later layered with modern sounds. "I wanted to bring my big instruments to Shillong, but they didn't let me," laughs Patterson, who further reveals that he has fondly named his cat after his favourite keyboard, the Roland Jupiter.

Jack Patterson in performance. Pics Courtesy/Instagram; Devashish Kamble

The last time the Grammy Award-winning group was in India in 2019, they collaborated with musician Benny Dayal for a track in Mumbai. "Collaborating with Benny was a delight. But we want to come back for a longer stay to explore the music here in India. I feel like we have only scratched the surface," Patterson admits. Grace Chatto, the group's strings maestro, tells us that it's noteworthy considering Patterson doesn't listen to music outside the studio at all. "We're in the studio all day. Jack practically lives in the studio. When we're out, a bit of silence feels good," Chatto explains. Just a day earlier, Boney M's Maizie Williams had assured her fans she'd be back in the country on New Year's Eve after her performance.

Chatto plays the keytar during a previous performance

The British band has evolved since their last visit to the country. The founding trio of Patterson, brother Luke, and Chatto now tour with violinist Molly Fletcher, and vocalists Kirsten Joy and Yasmin Green in what Chatto calls "a truly magical experience onstage". After releasing their single Cry Baby in August this year, the duo is ready for a genre revamp. "We recently returned from a trip to South Africa. We're deeply influenced by trance and reggaeton music right now," they reveal, adding that fans can expect new Afrobeat collaborations that are already in the works to release even sooner.

The Japan Arena at the festival hosted workshops and stalls like an origami corner where participants tried their hand at the ancient craft

After bidding the duo adieu, and grooving to Dutch-Moroccan DJ R3hab's closing set for the day while sampling local gin made using distilled rainwater from Cherrapunji at one of the many pop-ups at the festival, we hop into our jeep to head back. The fog has thickened since our earlier ride, but the rush has dissolved into a calm - the bandits must have left. But if they are ones to keep their promises, they will be back.

Maizie Williams performs as part of Boney M's farewell tour

Log on to: Clean Bandit on Spotify

Sound Czech

We catch up with Czech guitarist Brian Bajak and Slovakia-based bassist Lukas Gasparix of metal band Korn SK for a candid chat after their raging metal set. The band has had an adventurous (and rather metal) day - after losing their guitars in transit from Europe, the band was left without guitars at the sound check. "This is probably the first time a metal band rehearsed without guitars.

Lukas Gasparix and Brian Bajak

But the locals were extremely kind. Some of them offered to lend their own guitars just so we could put on a show," Bajak tells us. The miraculous arrival of the guitars an hour before the show called for a little celebration in the green room. About the experience performing in northeast India for the first time, Gasparix says it was a pleasant surprise. "In Europe, we play in venues that all look the same. We have been in awe of India's natural beauty since we landed. As for the crowd, we weren't ready for how loud they got at times," he signs off.

Log on to: Korn SK on Spotify