MEET OUR ARTIST: AKASH
AKASH PAREKAR
Sitarist
Akash Parekar is part of the new generation of exciting British-born sitar players. He has performed as part of zerOclassikal's Back to the Lounge sessions.
His musical upbringing was initially in western classical and contemporary western music which adds to his innovative playing style. From the tender age of 5, Akash was performing on stage and has since flourished as a creative musician.
Akash is the disciple of the renowned Sitarist and educator, Ustad Dharambir Singh MBE (disciple of the late Ustad Vilayat khan Sahab) and one of Ustad Ji’s most famous disciples, Smt. Roopa Panesar. Akash has also received guidance from many great musicians such as Ustad Harjinderpal Singh (disciple of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma) and, Ustad Irshad Khan (Disciple and son of Ustad Imrat Khan and nephew of Ustad Vilayat Khan). He has also played and some very prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall with the philharmonic orchestra and DE Montfort hall, Glastonbury, birmingham town and symphony hall and many more to name a few. Currently, Akash performs in the UK and internationally and is now working on his debut album.
Read more about his journey as a musician in his own words…
What drew you to your instrument?
I heard it from my mother who played for a while and I was instantly drawn to the sound and went along to a lesson with my mother. That’s where I met my guru Roopa Panesar and haven’t stopped playing since.
What has it been like working with zerOclassikal?
My experience with zero classikal has been very positive and very supportive. Would definitely want to work with them more and create new projects.
What inspires you?
My biggest inspiration is of course my guru but I love R&B and old pop. Get a lot of ideas from there. Seems like there is a lot of ideas in simplicity. For the next 5 years ,I intend to release 2 albums take them on tour and release new projects and dive into more musical ideas.