Although not a new kid on the block, Soumik Datta is a rising new star in the UK music scene. Acclaimed as one of the most talented young musicians, this Bengali-born British composer is a gifted and keenly dedicated sarod player of his generation. Merging the Indian improvisations with eclectic western arrangements and percussive interludes, he started his company label Baithak Records and began to present concerts that revealed a contemporary idiom marking his signature style. His musical career has hitherto witnessed him collaborating with a constellation of A-list idols like Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles, Talvin Singh, Akram Khan, Nitin Sawhney, Bill Bailey and Raghu Dixit.
Besides, he has already composed the soundtrack of a critically appreciated feature film Life Goes On. “Our ultimate aim is to create a swarm of stage shows surrounding live music from our home-stable. At the end of the day I think, even musicians are actors who are able to emote their internal feelings and move the audience sitting across the gallery rows. They too are mobile personalities who don’t always essentially remain static on the dais. Their musical piece runs through a narrative journey and it can be really engaging for the spectators to see them exchanging dialogues amongst themselves, standing, talking, sauntering around and involving a great theatrical element to the developing scenes on stage in tandem with their performances,” he summarises his company’s objectives.
Hoarding a heart of a composer, Datta’s long-nursing desires to imbibe, absorb, proliferate and create musically with diverse genres seemed to come true when he slowly but steadily felt the waves of world music making its way into his exposed senses. From jazz, blues, Cuban to rock-n-roll, punk and western classical scores — music of variant tastes, flavours, scents and sounds came pouring in through the windows of global music.
Talking of tweaking the traditional old instruments into new-age electronic converts, Datta says, “Well, children of the modern-day, progressive world surely would like to see their gizmos generating a much rougher and edgier sound. This certainly adds a universal feel and flavour to their ethnic instruments and give their gadget a chance to toy with innovative strains and beats.”
It is admissibly true that experimentation is a key to sustain and evolve in the current e-age. Let’s not be myopic in our vision, putting blinkers on our eyes that the present day dynamic youngster musicians have arrived to only meddle with the conventional, ancient instruments. After all, transforming the old into a newer version doesn’t necessarily mean to discard the former and embrace the latter. Addition of latest products in the family of musical instruments only accelerates the research work on brand new possibilities stirring up within the cauldron of music.
Datta does have a long-cherished desire that he would one day like to see getting translated into reality. “I would want to carve my own niche someday, ” he says. The prestigious stage of a nightlong Doverlane music conference (annually held in Kolkata), wherein great musical icons have played and sang recitals over the decades, also beckons him in his dream. “It’s one of those most coveted platforms that every musician hankers after in a lifetime and I am still a learner,” he claims.
Having forayed into film music, Datta has already signed on his next project called Tooting Broadway. Predominantly an urban drama, laced with the premise of a thriller, this British venture is slated for a 2012 release.
Embarked upon designing and directing a new kind of stage endeavour on the international music map, this bright musician has introduced a novel concept entitled Circle of Sound, starting this April. “Primarily a live show, Circle of Sound will witness two people coming together from two different corners of the earth to meet at a common point via their musical routes. Thanks to the convergence technology, where music, dance, theatre, dialogues and back-projections meld to assimilate an assortment of ideas and expressions to tell a single connecting tale,” he elaborates.
“Devising such an out-of-the-box show naturally entails a completely new dimension to it. All in all, we want to create a convincing inventory of soirees, marked with salient influences of classical music, dramatic elements, nuances of poetry, documentary, conversation and story-telling to weave a tapestry of magic spells over the culture-connoisseurs. In a nutshell, this brings in a fresh approach and the challenge is exciting enough, since the motley production is partly streaked with a heterogeneous mix of performing crafts,” he avers to shed a clear light on his creative output. “The Circle of Sound has been shaped up in a manner, which rekindles the musical interests of western audience. But over here, the project will be given a desi spin to cater to Indian sensibilities. Besides, discussions are also on with ace percussionist Bickram Ghosh to facilitate participation at the ongoing successful series of Live in India musical concerts,” says Soumik.
Having lived abroad for ages, this young music junkie has never been severed from the ties of Tagorean music. Quiz him to define the bard’s music and how he is acceptable to the Bengali diaspora, settled in England, to this, the instrumental enthusiast corroborates: “Oh, he has left an indelible impact for countless aeons with several generations flowing with his soulful tide. Even our descendants are bound to fall back on his timeless repertoire at some point or the other. But Tagore’s illustrious creations are expansively immeasurable. He was a versatile genius, a multi-faceted artiste to be precise. A painter, songwriter, a freedom fighter, a mystic man, you cannot confine him to one particular label of identity. He has an irreplaceable position on our minds,” he acknowledges with a smile.