His early days Manas Chowdhary was born in Guwahati, Assam on August 28, 1974 in a humble and a culturally deep-rooted Assamese family. Growing up in a family that was musically inclined, his journey with music started at a very tender age as he began to fool around and experiment with any sort of instrument that he could get his hands onto.
At the age of fourteen he developed a fascination for the bass guitar and when he came across the music of bass guitar luminaries like Steve Harris, Roger Glover, Stanly Clarke, Geezer Butler and the likes, he was completely mesmerized by the electric bass and its low-end sounds!
Even though music academy or even acquiring a bass guitar was not on the cards for him back then in Assam, he delved deep into the world of bass music in every possible way. At some point during his musical explorations he discovered the Australian Aboriginal wind instrument, the didgeridoo, and with the blessings of mother nature and the help of a few friends he very quickly got the hang of the instrument.
Very soon, young Manas was exploring various genres of music such as folk, hard rock, funk, pop, electronic and even Bob Marley’s reggae music which deeply influenced his personality. By the age of eighteen, Manas was well into the local Assamese music scene and was playing with artists like Rosty, Santa Uzir, Zubin Garg, J P Das, Papon Angaraag Mahanta and many others.
Around the year 2000, he joined the Indian blues band ‘Soulmate’ from Shillong, recorded bass for their first music album ‘Shillong’ which was also featured by VH1, and toured the entire country for live performances with the band.
His professional accomplishments
Manas’s musical journey took a turn when in 2006 he arrived in Mumbai to explore ‘The Great Indian Music Scene’. From then on, he never looked back.
He has collaborated with and performed alongside some of the most well-known personalities in the music industry like Asha Bhosle, Padmashri Hariharan, Rahul Sharma (Santoor Maestro), Richard Clayderman, Ustaad Sultan Khan (Sarangi Maestro), Ustaad Surat Hussain Khan (Sitar Maestro), Trilok Gurtu, Mohit Chauhan, Sonu Nigam, Adnan Sami, Pritam Chakraborty, Roopkumar Rathod, Joi Barua, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Atif Aslam, Shankar Ehsan Loy, Salim-Sulaiman, Kunal Ganjawalla, Adesh Srivastava, Shreya Ghosal, Ankit Tiwari, Rekha Bhardwaj, Kavita Seth, Nitish Pires, Deepak Pandit (Violin Maestro) and Purbayan Chatterjee (Sitar Maestro).
He also played and recorded for bands like Aswin and the Bombay Project (fusion), Beat Root Blues Band (blues), Kontraband (jazz-funk), Fusonica (fusion), Akruti (fusion) and Serpents of Pakhangba, a band which is very close to his heart.
From 2006 to now Manas Chowdhary has recorded bass for movies like Zindagi Rocks, Khosla ka Ghosla, Traffic Signal, Sarkar Raj, Sarkar 2, Tasveer 8×10, Tere Sang, Uddan, Teesmar Khan, Rakha Charitra, F.A.L.T.U., Dum Maro Dum, Bheja Fry 2, Ready, Kuch Love Jaisa, Mausam, My Friend Pinto, Vicky Donor, Raaz II, Gangs of Wasseypur, Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster, Raaz III, Coffin Maker, Khamoshiyan, Wazir, Welcome to Karachi, Neerja, Chhelebela, Sonu Ki Titu Ki Sweety, Gulabo Sitabo, Axone.
His Didgeridoo and bass collaborations with Dj Uri (UK). Dj Nasha (UK), Dj Dave J (Australia), Dj Clement, Dj Manoj, Percussionist Jonqui, Dj Tahir as well as his appearances on television and broadcast events like Mtv Coke Studio with Papon, Mtv Unplugged with Farhan Akhtar and Mohit Chauhan, Mission Ustad and Ye Shyam Mastani add to his repertoire.
Manas Chowdhary, an inspiration
Manas is a self-made and a self-taught artist. His life’s journey, right from his humble beginnings in the remote corner of Assam to his exceptional professional accomplishments in the global music scene, is proof that anything is possible if there is good intention and genuine effort. He is an inspiration to all who choose to take the road less travelled.
Manas’s vision is to pass on his musical capabilities of playing the bass guitar and the didgeridoo to anyone and everyone who yearns to learn. He looks at music as something which is not just about creating melodious notes and symphonies. It is a way of life and can be used therapeutically to heal the body, mind and soul. He believes that playing music can help us channel our energies in the right direction and bring us closer to our true selves.
Manas’ Bass Guitar Live Interactive Sessions
Manas would love to teach and interact with bass enthusiasts of all ages and all skill levels. His live interactive sessions will cater to individual preferences. The following is a brief summary of the different aspects of playing the bass guitar that you can learn from the comforts of your home :
- What to practise and how to practise
(optimize your practise routine)
- Fretboard study and visualization
- Grooves and time concepts
- Theory and harmonic analysis
- Learning the language transcriptions, various genres analysis
- Putting everything together into PLAY
Timings Available: Tuesday to Friday 9am - 7pm IST
Class rule: per session -45 mins one on one over google meet / Skype
After every session, I will share PDF of the same, (what we have studied that session) assignments, mp3, play along etc over email.
