Prashant Aswani: The Sonically Speaking Interview

Prashant Aswani ESP Guitar

Prashant Aswani has got it together as only a top-notch modern fusion player can. On any given track on his latest record Sonically Speaking one can find odd-time signatures, killer tone, engaging melodic interplay, ear-grabbing harmonic movement and above all, solid groove.

It takes a special type of guitarist to be able to master all of the elements needed to tackle a project such as this, and Aswani proves that he’s up to the challenge on every track. Producing an album that deserves to be included on any critic’s Top 10 fusion-guitar albums of the year.

Featuring an all-star lineup of musicians behind him, including bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Joey Heredia and guitar virtuoso Brett Garsed, Aswani’s writing and arranging serves to bring out the best in these world-class performers.

Though the tracks are tricky to say the least, often using odd-time signatures and moving into difficulty harmonic territory, the band navigates each new challenge with ease, which is a major factor in the overall success of an album.

Often times fusion records sound hard, as if the musicians are in 5th gear the whole time just to make it through, but these guys and gal come at it with a relaxed precision that is not only enviable from a player’s standpoint, but makes each song very enjoyable to listen to.

It’s been ten years since his last release of new material, and after hearing his latest record, one can only hope that we don’t have to wait ten more for another album from the talented writer, producer and guitarist.

Guitar International recently sat down with Prashant Aswani to talk about his latest record Sonically Speaking, Tabla and ESP guitars.

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Matt Warnock: You play in a modern-fusion style and have a ton of energy in your playing, but you decided to kick off your new record with the slower, more atmospheric track “Stephanie.” Why did you choose to start off with a ballad instead of an up-tempo track?

Prashant Aswani: I think that that song really represents me as a player and songwriter. I went with that to kick off the record because I thought it would really set the tone that I was looking for. There are no drums, just Tabla and acoustic guitars, with clean guitars all the way through. So I was going for that kind of sound on that track and I think it sets up the rest of the album nicely.

Matt: Can you talk about your relationship to the Tabla over the years, what draws you to that instrument and why you included it on the new record?

Prashant: Tabla was the first instrument I played, starting back when I was 8 and then playing it exclusively until about 12 or 13. For me, I’ve always been drawn to the sound of the Tabla, Zakir Hussain has probably been my biggest musical influence over the years.

I grew up listening to Indian classical music. My parents being immigrants to America, this was kind of my “pop” music that I grew up listening to. I’m most drawn to and inspired by the Tabla I think, so featuring it on the album was really a natural choice for me.

Matt: You feature a guest artist playing Tabla on the record, but were you tempted to play them yourself since you have a background on the instrument?

Prashant: I like to get other people’s input, I mean I do so much of the stuff on my own anyway, writing, arranging, producing and playing guitar. If I can get another person involved I prefer them to come on board. Even if I could fulfill that roll I’d prefer to have someone do it to have more outside involvement on the project.

Matt: Speaking of guest artists, you also feature two great guitarists on the record, Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano. Could you talk about what it is about both of these guitarists that draws you to their playing and inspired you to include them both on the album?

Prashant: Brett’s been an influence ever since I saw him do a clinic at Berklee when I was studying there. I was sitting really close to his hands, watching his right hand closely. He has this very interesting technique where he uses a pick and all three fingers which really inspired me.

It blew me away and I started to try it, and it ended up becoming a natural thing for me. All of a sudden I got into that kind of playing just by watching him at that clinic. He’s been an influence on my playing ever since and I just really like his style.

A couple of years ago I did some clinics out in Australia and we did a show together. We really hit it off and so I thought he’d be perfect for this solo on the record. I asked him and he said yes, so we did it.

Rob and I went to Berklee together and were inseparable. We used to jam all the time, we were like brothers. I’ve known him all these years and we’ve always talked about doing a record together.

He was in town tracking the new Anthrax album. We were just hanging out and I was in the middle of tracking the album and he asked if he could play on it. I said of course, so he grabbed his purple ESP and laid down the track. It was very natural, it wasn’t like a work in progress or anything, it all sort of came together naturally.

Matt: One of the things that makes your playing stand out is your use of odd time signatures, such as the tune “Make it 14.” Do you sit down and try and write in these odd times, or are they a result of your natural songwriting process and just seem to emerge as you’re working on a new tune?

Prashant: I naturally write in odd times. In songs like “Make it 14,” the riff will turn around when you play it twice in a row. You’ll notice it if you tap quarter notes, it’s kind of a loop idea.

I basically play with the time and it just happens to be that some of these parts turn into odd times. It’s not something I do consciously, I just try and groove on a cool riff and a third of the time it’ll turn into an odd-time idea.

Sonically Speaking

Matt: You play ESP guitars exclusively, which models did you use on the album and what is it about those guitars that made you choose them over Gibson or Fender?

Prashant: I’ve been with ESP ever since my first album. The relationship’s been great. They have a very high-end custom shop, and everything plays perfectly. I approached them and they were interested right from the start of my career.

I have my own models that fit my hands perfectly, and I can’t really ask for anything more than having a guitar that’s built to fit my hand. There are some wood and pickup configurations, but for the most part I use my custom models, and the standard models I use are the Vintage Plus and an Eclipse, that’s about it.

Matt: You also used an acoustic guitar on the album, talk about that guitar.

Prashant: It’s an old Takamine guitar that I got back in high school. It’s got a mahogany back and side, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard and a solid spruce-top. I’ve been playing that as my exclusive acoustic guitar for many years, and it’s really a great sounding instrument.

Matt: You also play Bogner amps, how did that relationship begin and how has it developed over the years?

Prashant: I’ve known Reinhold for a number of years, just bumping into him at NAMM shows, and he’s just a brilliant engineer. It was only recently that things just worked out for me with Bogner. Believe it or not, I bumped into him one day when I was walking my daughter down the beach and he told me to come by the shop, so I did.

He showed me some things he was working on and I really just fell in love with those amps. Now, he comes up with some new things and I’ll use them, it’s a great relationship. I love his amps and he likes the way I play, so we just take it from there.

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