Aaditya Goswami, a guitarist and producer based in Gurgaon, seems to take cues from and have listening interests in multiple spaces and genres. If his winding and layered debut single ‘Voyager’ is anything to go by, he is as good at assimilating those influences (which sound like they are rooted in progressive rock and metal but go into other jazzier and heavier areas) as he is at keeping his horizons broad. That generally makes for interesting music and this does not disappoint in that regard (or in any other).

What is easiest to see is that Aaditya has considerable talent on the guitar. All of ‘Voyager’ is centered on riffs and guitar melodies, and they are of a high quality. The first third of the song with its intricate playing and atmospheric instrumentation is especially gratifying. There is a flair for the dramatic here and it is used to the maximum. There are snatches of synths and lo-fi bits to keep things moving, and the shuffle used here keeps it out of boring territory. Of course, a six and a half minute-long instrumental doesn’t often come without a section where the instrumentation becomes orchestral and loud, and that is well and truly alive here. All the delicate playing suddenly disappears and, you guessed it, huge chords! Sure, whatever, it’s a bit pastiche, but it lasts all of thirty seconds before the tempo slows down and we are back in familiar territory. The song ends with a solo (of course) which is also dialed up to 11 on the feels-meter. One might assume that Guthrie Govan’s work with Steven Wilson has left a thought or two here; the emotions run high, the volume never goes into screaming territory and it’s altogether a wholesome end to the track.

With something like ‘Voyager’ for a debut, Aaditya has proved he can play and write. Additional instrumentation (drums from Abhishek Raj Sinha and backing vocals from Urvi Bhattacharya) only improves the ideas on show here, and a typically punchy mix from Keshav Dhar fits well. There is a lot to like here, and it shows a bright future.