Song blends Carnatic with Japanese music

Thiruvananthapuram: Passion for music, a common friend and a popular social media application were all that it took to unite city-based musician

Akhil Jaya Chand

and Japanese opera singer

Satchy Sally

to try a fusion of Carnatic-Japanese music. The single tentatively titled ‘Wandering Soul’ will have Japanese lyrics played in Raga Bhageshri.

It was Vineetha Viraj, a friend Akhil made through the musical app ‘Smule’ that connected Satchy and Akhil. Both Vineetha and Satchy are tutors at a music school in Japan. “Vineetha helped with introducing Indian music to Satchy who spent hours understanding our music before travelling from Tokyo to Thiruvananthapuram to record her part,” said Akhil.

Satchy was awestruck when she heard Carnatic music for the first time. “Even though I started playing the piano at the age of four and began singing opera by 15, I had little experience with other genres. Even traditional Japanese music was not known to me. So, when I listened to what Akhil wanted me to sing for our track, it felt an impossible task. I am used to singing with musical notations but it is impossible to keep up with Carnatic music’s notational progress. So, Akhil changed the notes to flat notes and we managed to complete the track,” she said.

As Carnatic music would be difficult for the Japanese audience to digest due to the language barrier, Akhil decided that a version with Japanese vocals was necessary. Satchy who received the Malayalam version with a literal translation of lyrics in English converted the lyrics into Japanese with help of a friend.

Akhil said he tried several ragas but settled for raga bhageshri as it would provide the perfect vibe since the theme of the song is about missing memories and a wanderer searching for something he does not know.

For Akhil, the track with Satchy marks the first steps towards realizing his dream of presenting Indian music to a global audience.

The duo is also set to record multiple songs later in 2020 and also has plans on releasing an album.