Soundscapes: An evening of fusion music and healing

Music enthusiasts in Delhi were in for a treat as a prelude to a musical collaboration, titled Soundscapes, was hosted at the Embassy of the Netherlands. The collaboration, inspired by the waters of the Netherlands’ Wadden Sea and India’s Tso Kar wetland, aims at healing mind, body and nature. It was composed at a residency in the Himalayas and was curated by Direct Create in association with the cultural division of the Embassy of Netherlands.

“Music is the language we all speak. We belong to different continents, cultures and musical traditions, but we bonded over the universal language of music. The process was organic,” said Dutch pianist and lead composer Frank Bilsen, as he introduced their set to the audience. Frank, along with percussionist Karan Chitra Deshmukh, sarod player Debasmita Bhattacharya, and saxophone player Julien Perez, bridged diverse musical realms – bringing together Indian and western sounds that ‘usually don’t speak to each other’. Huib Mijnarends, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Netherlands, said, “It blew my mind. It is fine example of how collaboration between people and countries can be magical.”

"It was a new experience for me. The moment everyone picked their instruments at the residency in Uttarakhand, and played the first note, I knew we were on to something magical," said percussionist Karan Chitra Deshmukh about the collaboration.

Sarod player Debasmita Bhattacharya said, "The music was created in the lap of nature and is inspired by it. The purpose of this music is to share and experience joy and heal the world."

"As musicians, we learned a lot from each other. Music speaks directly to the soul of the performer and the listener. So, we tried to translate our emotions into our music," shared Dutch saxophone player Julien Perez.