Mumbai-based musician Dhruv Ghanekar believes that music, just like food, is a window into a culture. He chats with R Kaur
You have performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in the music world. Which ones have been the most memorableIJ
There have been many actually. Working with Raul Midon has been a phenomenal experience. For those who don’t know, Raul Midon is a blind American singer, songwriter. He’s considered to be the next Stevie Wonder. So working with him was indeed fantastic and great fun. Also working with Karim Ziad has been amazing. I had to chase him for a year and eventually fly down to Paris to get him to record. It was a lot of fun recording with him and linley Marthe. Performing with Trilok Gurtu was exhilarating and challenging.
You released your second album Voyage this year. Tell us something about it.
Voyage is a musical journey through various cultures as seen through my Indian lens. Of course, my urban Indian lens serve as the filter and play the role of the curator. I wanted the music to sound real and organic and avoid any cliches so the process was really long — casting the right musicians and producing and mixing have taken over a year. But I’m blown away by the response so far. It’s been quite rewarding. Getting the musicians on board was actually quite organic, everyone who came on board heard the music and wanted to be a part of it.
Your first album was called Distance, and then Voyage. What is the metaphor behind the titlesIJ
The album is a metaphorical journey through various regions whose music has insipired me over the last few years. I have never travelled to Algeria or Mali but have soaked myself in that music for a long time now. I’ve always been fascinated by music from other cultures. Not pop music, but indigenous and folk music from different parts of the world. Maghreb or Ganawa from North Africa is one such music that I have been attracted to. Mali is really rich in music and is considered to be the birth place of the blues.
In order to fuse two different cultures, one must introspect and go deep into its origin. Or else it can start sounding a bit cliched. It’s not a quick and an easy fix but the rewards are far greater this way. I am fascinated by the idea of travelling via sound and I am usually attracted to stuff that gives me a scent of a place whether it’s a film or a piece of music. That is the acid test. I haven’t yet planned the next project but something is brewing.
You have fused African music in your tracks. What is this obsession with African musicIJ
I have been listening to West and North African music for over a decade and I began to wonder how a certain groove would sound juxtaposed against a certain melody. These conversations began to get louder in my head and I felt compelled to record with these musicians who are on the record. I believe that music, just like food, is a window into a culture. But to truly make a statement one must dive deep into it and go to its roots. These cultures, Ganawa from North Africa and music from Mali, just like Indian music, are hundreds if not thousands of years old and I felt that it was necessary to soak myself in it to really find an organic meeting ground for the two to meet.
Ila Arun, too, featured in one of your tracks called Dhima. How was it working with herIJ
I have done a lot of work with Ila Arun whom I have known for many many years. She is an incredible artiste. She has got immense power and stamina when she sings, she can put a lot of younger people to shame actually.
Singing and composing your own music can be quite a task. How challenging can it getIJ
I actually started my career as a singer at the age of nine. I don’t come from a music family. I come from a family of filmmakers. However, music was always around. I started studying music around the age of 5-6 and soon began singing on commercials and albums. So those early years were great because I was at an impressionable age and I got a lot of exposure of the studio environment even. As my voice changed once I hit puberty, I found myself grabbing a friend’s guitar around 16 and that has stayed with me till date. So in a sense it was a happy accident that put me on this journey of music and everything has now come full circle. It’s a lifelong process and I’m just getting started.
Tell us something about the three songs that you will release on MTV’s Coke Studio Season 4IJ Are you collaborating with other artistes for those tracksIJ
The first song Ae Rab was born out of a doha written by Bulleh Shah. It is about a man’s quest for God. The theme had a strong resonance with my own spiritual journey and search for this age-old existential question. The song plays out in two parts. The first part that I’ve sung represents the urban man asking about God’s existence and seeking answers about his whereabouts. In the part that follows, Master Saleem invokes Bulleh Shah, saying, “God is actually within us and only when we slay the negativity within us can we truly find him.” The sound draws its influences from Flamenco music that I have always loved and listened to for so many years.
Nimoli is based on a Marwari folk poem that personifies love with a fruit of neem. like the fruit, love has two sides — a touch of sweetness and if unfulfilled, it has a hint of bitterness. The song features Ila Arun who is a powerhouse performer and Bobkat whom I’ve known for over 10 years ever since I featured him in the title track for the show Nach Baliye. The fusion of these two diametrically opposing cultures made for a fun track.
The third track Birha is a song based on an ancient Bhojpuri tradition known as Khadi Birha. The song is told from the point of view of an everyman. As he toils the field, he sings about stories drawn from Indian mythology to escape his drudgery. It has Kalpana Patowary and Sonia Saigal, one of India’s best jazz vocalists. Sonia’s lines draws from African American culture, viz plantation music, that is an early form of blues music and speaks about the grinding work of plantation workers in the field.