This tabla maestro knows his blaring beats by heart. And he can surely raise up a storm at his fingertips with a medley of metres. The surface of his pulsating instrument welds well with the palm of his hand. No wonder “Mr Percussionist” is his middle name and he lives upto it with perfect ease. The master of “rhythmscape” and ace scorer Bickram Ghosh is back with a bang with his brand new album Electro Classical to wow the audiences once again. The eight foot-tapping tracks unspool his renewed force and forte in the form of a brilliant mix of electricised classical instruments. Loaded with a promise to transport all die-hard music junkies into a different domain of throbbing sounds and dazy tunes, the compilation is worth checking out.
After winning accolades for creations like Rhythmscape and White Note, the current album seamlessly blends the soulfulness of Indian classical and the excitement of electronica. While retaining that desirable thrilling percussive energy, Electro Classical fetches in an added electric element, which is revolutionary in its own right. Experimental in style and fusionistic in flavour, the album keeps the verve of musical versatility alive.
Keeping the legacy of his Farukhabad Gharana alive, this deserving scion of tabla Pandit Shankar Ghosh strikes a chord of novelty with the euphoria of electronica on his offbeat playlist. With utmost vigour and vengeance, he leaves his signature imprints in conjuring up a full-fledged amalgam of new sounds and theories.
With electric sitar-licks and electric guitar-riffs, strumming an electric veena, electric sarod and electric mandolin mould the mainstay of the melody in the piece. A clutch of classical vocal bandishes, drum-raps, keyboards accompanied with an eclectic collection of acoustic gizmos, loops and Bickram’s tabla kit amplify the excitement even more. Most of the instruments used in the compositions are electrically or electronically triggered, thus lending the album with a smittening “avant-garde” sound-spin. Realising a sense of urgency to cater to both electronic music enthusiasts and the connoisseurs of conventional classical genre in equal measures, Bickram in his latest tryst has churned out a mishmash of truly original and world-class experiences, rolled into one distinctive tasteful album.
Responding to the rave reviews that his album is already garnering all over, Ghosh says, “I feel that in this format, the spirit of classical music would have no stumbling blocks in terms of its audiences. The youngsters can jolly well let their hair down and enjoy the ‘soul’ of Indian classical music in a sound premise of their liking. They can jive to an electric classical number in a disc, at a cultural soiree or for a college campus fest.”
If observed closely, the history of Hindustani classical music actually traces the tendency to modify and electrify traditional Indian classical instruments for ages. Gifted artistes of repute namely, U. Srinivas, U. Rajesh, Snehashish Mazumdar, Niladri Kumar and others have moved on to the electric mandolin, electric sitar, electric veena and others too are increasingly joining the fray with each passing day. “I found this phenomenon really fascinating in terms of its reach and the surge of musical possibilities it unleashed for classical music in general,” ascertains Ghosh.
Talented young sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee tugs in at the strings of his Dwo with the free spirit and fervour that he always desired for. Dwo is a compound of “do” (Hindi for two) and “two” in English. “I wanted to wear my sitar like a guitar and enable it to generate a fusionistic sound from its body. I would marvel at the way Jimi Hendrix — one of the greatest electric guitar-gods of all times and a true blue rocker — would wear the gizmo when he played it in wanton abandon with a proficient élan. Dwo is my doppleganger. You may in fact call it my alter ego,” reveals Purbayan. Adding further he says, “With the evolution of music, we all wanted to keep pace with the changing times. Hence, it was a conscience call to step up our contributions in the cauldron of world music.” While the neck of a sitar remains the same, a guitarish feel has been added to electricise its otherwise melodic notes.
Most of the improvised editions of instruments come in handy because of their smaller dimensions and light weights. In the Dwo version of Purbayan’s sitar, the metal rod or truss is absent inside the instrument which is usually made of steel and runs inside the neck with a bolt that can be used. Instead, it is endowed with a metal plate to earth it. Similarly, to compete with the drummers, Ghosh too has electricised his tabla and performs mouth percussion to rev up his energy and vivacity at a performance. It’s common for all classical instrumentalists to base their gizmos on classical vocalists. So, sustenance is a key issue over here where conversely the instrument stands tall as a paramount pillar and the voice comes as an accompanist. Two other outstanding contributors on this album are Rajesh Vadya on the veena and Ambarish Das on the vocals. The latter is arguably a mind-blowing singer in the business, if not the best.
“Technology and music should go hand in hand. All living things evolve with time and so do the instruments,” says sarod exponent Pratyush Banerjee, who transformed his stringed instrument into a signature creation called Jyotidhwani. “My instrument wouldn’t have seen the light of day, had it not been the constant coaxing and badgering by Bickram to bring it under public notice. I had designed the instrument some eight years back. All my efforts to electricise it would be lost in vain had it not been for Electro Classical, who gave it a fresh lease of life. Jyotidhwani is essentially a derivative of sarod. Here, I’ve replaced the skin covering with a solid wood. This in a way is eco-friendly too. Now the hollowness of acoustics has become inaudible and the undue air-vibration has vanished for good,” he shares.
Intermingling ragas like vachaspati, kirwani, abhogi, charukeshi, pilu and taalas with the electric avatar of the album bears all the hallmark hues of a peppy palette. The vocals are soul-stirring bandishes and Sufi singing has made the compositions even more captivating.
One can vouch for both yin and the yang. While a coterie of discreet music aficionados can lap up the strong presence of a classical strain, the nocturnal waves and enthusiasts of electronica can shake a leg to the beats and rhythm in their pubbing space.