The percussionist-composer is changing track once again. This time he is going the classical sufi route with an album and concert tomorrow. He talked to SM Verghis about projects like Jal with Sonu Nigam
He said he was planning to blend the classical element of sufi music a long while before he began to seriously collaborate with a sufi singer, Parvati Kumari and Ambarish Dash (who happens to be in his band). The pair and Bikram Ghosh have come together for the album, Sufusion (Sony Music), and will be appearing in Delhi for a June 2 show at the 14th Annual Sangeet Mahotsav.
As Bikram shared, “Parvati is a professional sufi singer, who has a traditional vibe. I have used sufi elements before. like in the album Rhythmscape, where we had such motifs, blending them with a rhythmic structure and using components outside the realm of classical sounds. You don’t expect to hear a bandish with thumri or khayal. And in Sufusion, we combined these, alongside dholak and other drums.” He continued, “My music as usual is rhythm driven. But in this case, lyrics are also important. The form will also be fusion, mixing North Indian and South Indian classical music for instance. But the sufi aspect will make this format unique.”
He paused, adding, “We’ve got popular songs like Mast Kalandar with rare kalaams that will all be raag-based, and a scope for improvising with the structure of the notes, along with electric sitar.”
All this came together, when Ghosh and Parvati Kumar, a singer from UP, did a show in Kolkata one year ago, after he listened to her voice while she was recording. “Atul Churamani, a producer with Sa-re-ga-ma, told me he discovered a new voice and asked me to try something with her.”
Ghosh expressed, “I don’t like filmy sufi. The original numbers have a spiritual space. And Parvati, who learnt from a traditional sufi singer, is not a yuppie musician. Which means she didn’t use the high notes people associate film sufi music with.” He went on, “According to me Rahat Fateh Ali is that rare sufi singer in Bollywood, with gharana roots. I have no problem with sufi-music inspired pop songs but you have to make a distinction between those and an actual sufi song.”
The percussionist reminded he “also has a high stake in melody, because I am a composer too.” He added, “Stage shows will basically be expanded jam sessions with the aim to push boundaries. As leader of a band, I get to play with sound, while retaining the original aesthetics.”
And what does that mean in this caseIJ “The dignity of the take. You can bring this out inspite of contradictory elements like the electric sitar during a qawwali performance.”
His album, Dragonfly, with Greg Ellis, the American percussionist is on hold, and we caught him in the studio recording with Sonu Nigam for an album. The pair have Sooper se Ooper and Jal together. Ghosh independently composed soundtracks for several Bengali films over the last years, including one with Mithun Chakraborty. He explained, “Jal by Girish Mallik is set in the Rann of Kutch and will be about water problems. It uses sounds of the region along with world music.”