Australian percussionist and performer Ben Walsh plays music to touch the hearts of his listeners. He is now back in India with his latest solo project, Remix Experiment. By Saritha Saraswathy Balan
Ben Walsh laughs while describing his love for music. He terms it as crazy and enjoys the pressure of balancing the craziness and the rhythm, while he plays. Walsh is back in the city after a gap of three years with Remix Experiment, his latest solo project. laughter seems integral to his speech, the smile never fading from his face.
“It’s a multimedia wall of sound and vision and features a confluence of jazz-infused heavy bass-lines and amazing modern technology,” he explains. He has always found something new every time he visits India. “If you are lucky, you get invited to a new place every single time you come here. So each visit translates into a novel experience, as you get to see a new India. I prefer to travel alone in an artistic and musical sort of way,” he shares. Walsh is also excited to be part of the Jodhpur RIFF where he is all set to collaborate with Rajasthani master percussionists on the dholak, the khartal, the morchang and the dhol for a concert.
Talking about RIFF, Walsh says: “I am really excited. Technology, as always, inspires me to delve deeper into folk music. Fusion is what I love best. RIFF offers me a platform to do just that. Both ancient and modern music fascinate me.”
Walsh believes in creating his own brand of music. He adds, “Every time I do a show, it’s crazy to say the least. By integrating technology into music and further re-integrating these into humanity help create a rhythm that runs in tandem with the innate rhythm of life. Human beings create art. My job is to temper technology with a dose of humaneness. It just comes to me at that particular moment. like, in my latest work, it started with one song and now I have 25 in hand.”
Gravity Scratch, his invention, is a term that suddenly pops up in the middle of the conversation: “Ohh, it’s a very simple term….all the people keep talking about it. It’s basically a unique device that allows me to scratch as fast as another can drum. In this technique, recording is done back and forth and proceeds in a unique manner. It sounds awesome. It’s like playing the Cajun accordion, rhythmically playing with technology, using just one hand.”
Walsh enjoys performing alone as he believes that “the hardest thing to do is get people to perform together. My job does entail getting the best artists on one platform. Yeah, even in a solo performance, I do need people for orchestration and when we begin to play, allbarriers would crumble. We may not speak the same language. But when we play, music binds us together. Music is the most ancient language in the world.”
He is known for his awesome energy onstage and frenetic drum style. How does he manage to sustain it all through the showIJ “It’s not about maintaining the momentum, but not losing it. I aim to not let the energy levels down in art, by focussing on the beautiful moments onstage. I am not swayed by worry over the money that ought to come in, or whether the album will turn out to be a hit. One must learn to focus solely on the music being created in that moment. That is what makes you come alive,” he avers.
Staying focused, he admits, is hard work in this modern age, especially for a celebrity. “You need to do away with the money and ego factors, and not be judgemental about anyone,” he opines.
Walsh, best known for introducing the live drum and bass act, has designed concerts as a live performer and he considers the whole process as his experiment with freedom. Mention jazz, and he visibly lights up: “I love jazz. I have literally grown up with jazz. It is highly adaptable. When you play jazz, there is always the possibility to add more. I constantly trigger and improvise my pace in jazz.”
His music is termed abstract and Walsh is perfectly fine with that. “Abstract is thinking in terms of light, shade and tone. That is the way I look at humanity and society too,” he signs off.