Guess what got Alan Doherty and his band ALDOC most excited at Calcutta Club? The fact that ALDOC presented by Calcutta Club and partnered by t2 on November 28, was an open-air gig! Alan, who has been a part of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) soundtrack and is a former member of band Grada, mentioned how bad weather in Europe often disrupts an open-air performance. A packed house at Calcutta Club tapped, grooved, clapped and swayed as the band — Alan’s dream project that he started with ex-band mate Gerry Paul two years ago — went crazy on stage. ALDOC is founded on the idea of fusing the traditional Irish flute with urban sounds. What lends the band universal flavour is its set of musicians who hail from different countries, and who Alan had met during his extensive travelling. At Calcutta Club, there was, in a sense, jugalbandi between Irish flute, drums and soulful vocals. Feeling Much Better, Soona Lucky Da and Feed Me Seymour were some of the popular tracks.
“We have welcomed new members to the club recently and also allowed children of old members to be ‘dependant members’. There has been a good blend of the young and the old and hence we thought of bringing a band like ALDOC to the club,” said Kallol Basu, chairman, wine & cigar subcommittee, Calcutta Club.
Snapchat with Alan Doherty
What was your LOTR experience like?
I don’t read music and I remember standing in front of the orchestra and telling them I can’t read music and all of them laughed at me!
In Irish music, you learn it with your ears and it was very difficult for them to understand how I could play without reading.
What is the basic difference between Irish and Indian music?
In Irish music it’s all about rhythm. We don’t improvise like you do in Indian music.
Sjoerd Van Der Sanden. Too cool!
Do you follow any Indian musician?
I used to listen to Hariprasad Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain during my college days. At the moment we are working on an Irish-Indian flute album.
Who are you listening to right now?
Funny it has got nothing to do with flute, but, I really like Bon Iver.
An all-time favourite?
I think Shakti had a lot of influence on me.
A favourite song...
In The Deep Shade by The Frames.
An instrument you wish you could play...
Hmm... a lot of them but I think I’ll go with the piano.
Pictures: Shuvo Roychaudhury
