Play on, India!

doweshowbellyad=0; Mademoiselle KMusic, they say, transcends all barriers. Clichéd, but quite true especially for a country that is seeing, or rather hearing more and more musicians come ashore. And it’s not just the Shakiras and Steven Tylers that are grabbing the eye, but the newer, hither ‘unknown’ acts that are in equal demand. On the occasion of World Music day, we explore some of the new sounds that India is listening to...
More is less
Figure this.India, with a population of over one billion people, has the largest number of music aficionados in Asia. According to a recent survey done by MTV, 71 per cent of young Indians are most passionate about music. That’s a lot of people across the country. People who are drinking in sounds, old and new, in large, greedy gulps...and asking for more.
“Indian audiences, I have found are extremely curious, full of energy and want to have fun and listen to good music. And this curiosity that I am talking about is in a very noble sense. There is an openness to listen to new sounds, and sounds that are not necessarily coming from the US,” says Benedicte Alliot, the Cultural Attaché to the French Embassy, which has brought The Fête de la Musique 2007, also known as the World Music Festival to Indian shores this year.
Prune Lieutier from Alliance Francaise, co organisers of The Fête de la Musique 2007 in India, is also awed by this innate curiosity of the Indian audience.And this sense of curiosity and desire to hear new sounds is what is driving organisers in the industry to bring new and innovative musical acts to the country.
New sounds
From Australian and Canadian music groups that captivated audiences at the annual Roots Festival held in Shillong, Meghalaya last month to Chicago based Jazz musician Tyris, who is performing at ITC’s Fortune Select Global hotel at Gurgaon, to upcoming women artists from France who are wowing audiences across India with the ‘French Kiss’ tour; these are only some of the acts that have enthralled audiences across the country.
“We wanted to present a new kind of sound, and music. They are pretty amazing on stage, even though some of their lyrics are in French. The way they perform, the way they interact with the public...” says Prune, not at all worried about the language barrier or audiences’ acceptance of the French singers - Mademoiselle K, Anais, and Emily who are on a week long tour of India spanning nine cities.
“I am sure the girls will be warmly welcomed. They are young, emerging artists who we are sure are going to make it in the future. And that is the theme of the Festival de Musique - to showcase a new generation of French artists,” adds Benedicte.
So, what is the sound of these singers from France? “My sound is very acoustic. I used to be a classical pianist so my music comes from there. My songs are about absurdity, love, and what girls are all about. Cabaret, blues, classical, you’ll find a lot of that in my music,” says Emily.
doweshowbellyad=0; Tyris at Fortune 500Both Emily and Mademoiselle K are smitten with Indian classical forms of music, which they find to be rather mystic and soothing. Mademoiselle K is especially impressed with the hard work and dedication that classical musicians put in their riyaaz.
“It’s very impressive for me as I don’t believe in any God. To me, music is God. Sometimes these musicians practice for so long before they get to play in front of an audience. But in France even if you don’t know your music you can play before an audience - it’s very pretentious! I think it’s very important to have the humility of work,” says the young singer, which is what she tries to follow in her life.
“I don’t speak very good English but paradoxically my influences are very English, very American. My sound is some bit of rock, it’s not acoustic, some bit of electronic, electric guitar, bass, drums. . I have a lot of classical influences in music. I love classical symphony, the opera, chamber music. I have a very passionate way of seeing things and it comes out in my songs,” says 25-year-old Mademoiselle K.
New artists and new sounds - India has never had it so good before. While singers from France are presenting their music to audiences across the country, Tyris is making audiences swing to his beat. Presenting his own style of entertainment - ‘new-age’ Jazz coupled with some lively interactions with the audience, Tyris’ opening night had the crowd in frenzy.
India needs to reach out
So, while India is swaying to new sounds, on the flip side, these artists are quite in the dark about new sounds in India. For them, the buck stops at classical music, the tabla and Bollywood!
“I don’t know much about the Jazz scene in India or the music scene in India and that’s why I am here so can I learn more,” says Tyris for whom India evokes sounds of different rhythms, especially the tabla. “It is music that makes you move and want to dance. I’d like to play with Sivamani for the lovely and many sounds that he creates. And Ustad Zakir Hussain. I’ve seen him in Washington DC.”
“Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, the films, especially Satyajit Ray’s films, and classical Indian music. Contemporary music I don’t know very well. ... I am really looking forward to knowing what the music of the younger generation is today and I know that there are really some talented musicians. I am really looking forward to meeting them and that’s important - to be able to meet other musicians as well,” says Emily.
“Except Pt. Ravi Shankar I don’t know a lot of Indian musicians. I have seen a few Bollywood films, but apart from that I am not aware of what happens in India musically,” echoes Mademoiselle K.
Though these musicians profess to not knowing much about contemporary Indian music, they are eager and curious to explore. And when told that the land that produced legends such as Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, and others also produced some great Blues and Jazz musicians, the artists cannot help but be surprised. What remains to be seen though is how quickly the new genre of Indian music is able to reach out to western audiences, before they too suffer a fate similar to that of classical music. These are interesting times.
radhika.das@indiatimes.co.in