Kolkata producer and sound engineer Miti Adhikari, who spent over three decades at BBC’s iconic Maida Vale studio sessions and later returned to work with Indian rock bands, has passed away at the age of 69 following complications from surgery.
Adhikari, known for his work with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Coldplay until 2011 in the U.K., worked behind the scenes in the U.K. and became a pioneer in the Indian indie rock scene. He was once part of the Kolkata rock band Mahamaya as a guitarist before moving to the U.K. to work in theater sound effects. He joined BBC as an assistant studio manager and later the sound engineer at live sessions at their Maida Vale Studios in 1978.
While Adhikari was barely known in India until he was featured in the Foo Fighters’ 2011 video dedicated to him during the Reading & Leeds Festival, he eventually carried weight in India’s music scene. He had worked with everyone from Neel Adhikari (his cousin) to indie artists and filmmakers.
According to sound engineer Susmit Sen, who produced Sen’s latest album “Azaadi,” he had an etched in the relationship between the composer and the producer, “His ears had shaped the sound of so many legendary acts, and he fought no ego.” Sen used examples like Abhinandan Mukherjee’s drum performance to prove it. Adhikari died just as he was about to set up his new home in Goa, deeply saddened by his untimely demise.
