Now, our guitars gently weep

The adage that death always comes in threes has been disproven this year with Prince’s passing.  There is a sinking feeling in our gut as we come to terms with the number of icons we have lost in 2016 — David Bowie, Alan Rickman, comedian Victoria Wood, and now the ‘Love Symbol’ himself. With hits like Soft And Wet, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World and others — Prince Rogers Nelson’s music style, influences, eccentric and flamboyant stage personas are far-reaching.

The band ‘Nikhila & Sahib’  recently covered Kiss, one of their favourite songs. “He was one of my biggest inspirations for the style of music I play. Now that he’s gone, it’s really sad to know there won’t to be any new music from him. Like Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, Prince to me is the King of Funk and his music will keep the funk alive,” says Sahib Singh, the guitarist. Nikhila Sharma, the vocalist in the musician-duo adds that the singer’s death shocked her. “I’ve always listened to him in awe. His unique style of singing, his ‘out of the world’ songwriting, and his larger than life persona… he was a God on stage,” she says.

Antony Kevin Fernando, guitarist and vocalist for Vertigo, names Purple Rain and Let’s Go Crazy as his favourite songs.  “He’s one of the most underrated guitarists in the world of mainstream music. The King has gone; Bowie and Prince are now gone too. The music is going to be beautiful up there in heaven for sure,” he rues. Says Marti Bharath of the electronica act Sapta — “While I don’t listen to Prince, I do listen to Michael Jackson, who was a Prince fan. Even in electronica, he has influenced artists bringing out the retro grooves.” He may not be with us physically but as the man himself said — “A strong spirit transcends rules.”