Class Apart in performance.

Drumming up the dhol with an overdriven guitar, meshing strains of Turkish percussion with Chinese counterparts, or taking off on a piece of electronica to give it an Indian classical cocoon.

Lounge music, the latest rage every which corner of the country, and till now a dungeon of DJs and discs, is set to go live, with a Calcutta fusion outfit daring to break barriers. Class Apart, an ensemble featuring a unique East-West vocal combine in Pandit Santanu Bandyopadhyay and Neel Adhikari, has taken the plunge to create ?live lounge melodies for the first time in the country?.

Lounge lizards weaned on CDs of the likes of Nitin Sawhney, Talveen Singh and Karunesh, can soon chill to live riffs, as Class Apart unveils a live repertoire of its cross-cultural fusion fare. First stop is The Park, Chennai, with four shows lined up from August 17 to 20, with a string of gigs to follow in hometown Calcutta.

?We have been working on a live lounge range for the past 18 months, with the aid of a special software that allows us to create electronic music on the spot, on the back of which, we can do our collage of vocals,? says Neel. Going live was also the initiative of Abhijit Bose, former F&B manager, The Park Calcutta and the brain behind Someplace Else, now in Chennai.

?He gave us the break, and we have to make the most of it. Fusion is no longer a blending of genres now, it?s a genre in itself, and we hope to do real ?trippy? stuff in lounge with our unique blend,? stresses Neel.

Class Apart?s live lounge is all about improvisation. ?For instance, the (six-member) band kicks off a number with an electronic dotara strain featuring great pitch oscillation. I pick up the thread with my interpretation through an Indian raga, shifting scales as the flavour demands,? explains Santanu, Neel?s guru.

The arrangements are not constant and the only fixed agenda is responding to each other to create a ?vibrant melding of East and West?, the duo stresses. So, even numbers like Norwegian Wood and Roadhouse Blues could be set to a Darbari Kanara or a Megh with a lilting lounge tinge.

?We want to give our listeners an immersive experience, so that they can relax and be one with the smooth and cohesive sound, with the knowledge it?s being created then and there,? says Santanu, who represents the fifth generation of the Bishnupur gharana.