Strumming Indian heart strings

French guitarist Simon Aymeric is a man of many talents. One of the founding members of the folk-blues duo, Farlight, he is also a singer/songwriter for the band. The artiste, who is currently touring India, took to learning the guitar after he decided to imitate his idols Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. He recalls, “I started learning to play the piano at the age of six when my parents asked me to pick an instrument and learn how to play. At the age of 11, I discovered Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, which is when I decided to start playing the guitar. I was inspired by these artistes and wanted to try my hand at what they did.”

When he isn’t singing/songwriting for Farlight, he is the lead guitarist for the band War Heroes with bassist Flo Gauffroy and drummer Beranger Ventome. He goes on to share that even the band War Heroes, which he started three years ago, is a tribute to the infamous Hey Joe guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, who influenced a lot of Simon’s music while growing up.

Talking about his musical influences, he says, “I’m not just a fan of rock, I like to experiment with all genres of music. Be it jazz, blues, classical and even hip-hop — I want to be able to make all sorts of music.”

In the country for his Tunes from the Strings tour, he admits that it was only a matter of time that he made a pitstop in India. “I visited India a long time ago with my family and knew I had to come back. I didn’t necessarily think it would be about music, but I just wanted to see the country again. This time around, my friend said he could help get some gigs and I was onboard. So far, it’s been phenomenal,” he explains.

Simon, who has witnessed a few Indian classical concerts, praises the music scene here. He says, “I love the music here. I was lucky enough to see two Indian classical song and dance concerts and I really enjoyed it.  I’m very keen on knowing more about ragas.” Simon counts Pandit Ravi Shankar as one of the Indian musicians he likes to listen to, and shares that he keeps discovering new artistes he likes when it comes to classical Indian.  While he hasn’t had the opportunity to listen to the rock music in our country, Simon is open to being introduced to some while he is in the country.  

The musician also looks forward to meeting more people while he travels around the country till January 23.  “I would love to collaborate with other Indian musicians, but I don’t know if my skills are good enough,” he laughs, and signs off saying, “But yes, interacting with other musicians in the country would be a great outcome too!”