New Fusion music : is it gud or bad!! - Page 5

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Fusing fusion

Percussionist Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma on walking the fine line

Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma: 'You can never do 100 per cent justice to either the Western or Carnatic form when you fuse them, but they must gel well.' — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

BORN INTO a traditional musical lineage, eminent percussionist Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma (popularly known as Shivu) is the son of the late Carnatic violinist, Vidwan Anoor S. Ramakrishna. Essentially a classical musician, he is a much respected figure in fusion circles. "My first love is Carnatic concerts. Fusion music is just going on, on the side. I've done music for cassettes; I have composed music for dance, ballet, etc. I was involved in commercial music — like films and albums and had lots of friends who played western instruments. So, we used to jam in someone's place and that kicked off my fusion composing career.

"My father used to play the violin and I learnt Carnatic from him, but as long as I can remember, I have been playing the mridangam. Percussion has been my favourite and it came naturally. I started training under my guru R.A. Rajagopal only at the age of 13. Along with mridangam, I picked up the tabla, dhol, thavil, western drums, etc. Once you learn an Indian percussion instrument, it becomes very easy to master a western one.

"Usually, the perception of fusion music is that all it takes is adding some dhin-chak dhin-chak sort of standard western beats to an alaap. 😆😆 But that is not the only way. Fusion is too abstract to define; there is no definite format to follow. But what I try to do is project classical music in a form that is appreciated by the common man who doesn't care about the raga or the tala. I make sure that I don't touch the traditional kirthanas or varnas, but just use that structure. I have not gone beyond tradition, because in Carnatic or Hindustani music, there are some rules to every raga (like ascending and descending swaras).

"My basic aim is to promote classical Indian music through fusion. So I make sure that the songs retain their traditional values and are not tampered with just for popular appeal. For example, Sahana is one of the hardcore Carnatic ragas and I would never ruin its structure by mixing it with some other raga, however good it might sound. When I take another hardcore raga like Varaali, I know it's not so easy to play on the keyboard or guitar. That is why even for fusion music, it is important to have instrumentalists who understand and accept music of all forms. They must be able to mould the ragas to suit the mood and the need of the fusion number. You can never do 100 per cent justice to either the Western or Carnatic form when you fuse them, but they must gel well.

"There is one limitation in fusion music, though. You cannot suddenly start playing something that is unrehearsed or unplanned. The overall structure is pre-determined and changing it disrupts the entire harmony. But when I perform in a Carnatic concert, I know that I can play around a little bit within the structure.

"As an accompanist, you are always dependent on the main artist who decides how much time to leave for your solo. As a mridangam player, sometimes I feel there isn't enough room in a Carnatic concert for an instrument. I might get only about 15 solo minutes in a 3-hour concert, but some vocalists do understand the value of the instrument and the artistes and allow ample time for the solo instrumental bit.

"People do say that fusion music is not a method of promoting classical music, but that it is actually changing the form itself. They call it a step in the evolution of classical music. Both views are right. That's why we must be careful not to get carried away with the mixing of genres and forget the authentic ones. Eventually, it is only the listening ear that will decide what sounds good and what does not. Ten years from now, I think things will turn much more towards Indian music. The thing that's stopping Carnatic music from becoming popular is that it is very hard to understand, is very orthodox... more than Hindustani music.

"The problem lies with the media also. Except Doordarshan, no broadcaster hosts any show that showcases any classical music or art. People also switch on the radio so rarely; and even when they do, it is an FM channel that plays film and western music.

Even a small advertisement for a little chocolate is westernised. No wonder the majority wants to learn the guitar and drums. That's what they hear all the time, so that's what they know. Media should also expose people to Indian classical music to increase awareness. How many movies can the private channels keep showing? They must expand their programme base.

"When you look at private channels in Tamil Nadu or Kerala, you find quite a lot of promotion for classical music. Karnataka in general lags behind in this. I don't know why... though it is a lot better than the situation 10-15 years back. A number of youngsters want to at least know about their traditional forms of music.

"When you listen to the latest film music these days, a good number of them are classical based. For example, Devdas and even A.R. Rahman's music has a strong classical base. Fusion must blend different forms of music but must keep their distinctive elements alive. That's when it is beautiful. Film music has helped to generate interest classical music."

Vipin Pawar / DNA Fusionist:Dhanashree Pandit-Rai says, "Indian classical music cannot borrow, it can only lend." < method="get" ="http://www.google.com/custom" 1="http://www.google.com/search"></> < name="ie" value="UTF-8" =""> < name="oe" value="UTF-8" =""> < name="domains" value="www.dnaindia.com" =""> < name="sitesearch" value="www.dnaindia.com" =""> < name="cof" value="GALT:#b70000;S:http://www.dnaindia.com/;GL:0;AH:center;LH:138;GFNT:#67679c;L:http://www.dnaindia.com/images/dna-search.gif;LW:760;AWFID:4ee9c210b45a3f1c;" =""> < name="q" size="15" maxlength="255" value="" ="if(this.value=='Search this site')this.value=''" ="text">< value="Go" ="submit">

'Fusion is call of the times'
Friday, April 28, 2006 20:35 IST

Originally posted by: T.

according to me original fusion music - the kind of east meets west blend ARR does - is good and pleasing to the ear.

but, REMIXES of existing songs are an insult to fusion artists and a clear sign of deteriorating creativity in composers.

give me an original indo-western fusion blend and I'll accept it.

if you take someone else's work and add techno beats, rapping and stupid "wassup" "yo, yo, yo" phrases which make no sense, I will only say that its the garbage bin in an otherwise clean room of Indian Music.

i completely agree... some remixes are not bad, e.g. bin tere sanam, ghar jayegi, jal bin machli... but they are in no way better than the originals... so y make them?😕... worse than the actual songs are the disgusting videos 🤢... e.g. the remix of "kehdoon tumhe" is ok but the video is absolutely filthy... they think they're being subtle about it but any1 over the age of 16 can see what they're trying to imply!

the most brutal murders of classics via remix i have seen are "baharon phool barsaon"- the tune has been changed completely! and "salaame ishq"... when that song was playing on tv my mum got really upset and made me change the channel... i was really surprised because i have never seen her react this way to a song... she said it was making her feel suffocated and ill 😕... now surely if it can have that effect on someone, it really hasnt fulfilled its purpose!

Originally posted by: desi.babe

who iz dis abhilash 😕 😊
ne way welcom

Hi Ms.Paradox..

Did u know adwarkanath..???

welcome back to the forum abhilash.have enjoyed reading your posts... 😊

Originally posted by: ans24us1

"Usually, the perception of fusion music is that all it takes is adding some dhin-chak dhin-chak sort of standard western beats to an alaap. But that is not the only way. Fusion is too abstract to define; there is no definite format to follow. But what I try to do is project classical music in a form that is appreciated by the common man who doesn't care about the raga or the tala. I make sure that I don't touch the traditional kirthanas or varnas, but just use that structure. I have not gone beyond tradition, because in Carnatic or Hindustani music, there are some rules to every raga (like ascending and descending swaras).

"My basic aim is to promote classical Indian music through fusion. So I make sure that the songs retain their traditional values and are not tampered with just for popular appeal. For example, Sahana is one of the hardcore Carnatic ragas and I would never ruin its structure by mixing it with some other raga, however good it might sound. When I take another hardcore raga like Varaali, I know it's not so easy to play on the keyboard or guitar. That is why even for fusion music, it is important to have instrumentalists who understand and accept music of all forms. They must be able to mould the ragas to suit the mood and the need of the fusion number. You can never do 100 per cent justice to either the Western or Carnatic form when you fuse them, but they must gel well.

"There is one limitation in fusion music, though. You cannot suddenly start playing something that is unrehearsed or unplanned. The overall structure is pre-determined and changing it disrupts the entire harmony. But when I perform in a Carnatic concert, I know that I can play around a little bit within the structure.

Fusion must blend different forms of music but must keep their distinctive elements alive. That's when it is beautiful. Film music has helped to generate interest classical music."

👏

Abhi welcome back.... hows college going?

Wow Abhi, that was some welcome you recieved.. I am almost jealous 😭 😳 😆

Anyways, lovely topic Barnali ji and may I add, wonderful views, yours and every one else who has posted.

Just my thoughts, first of all, I dunno much about Indian classical music to comment about the fusion music that exists in music today.. but all I can say about that is, the better term for that is Jugalbandhi. I too have heard Joy, of Ust. Zakir Hussain (One Barnali ji mentioned) and trust me that is a treat to the ear.

Fusion, I think has a different meaning. Fusion is the mixing of two forms of music. In Indian music, fusion is refered to as Jugalbandhi. But there is another form of fusion like what Abhi spoke, trying to modernize the instruments and present it in a different affect. The best example that comes to me is Morning Raga. Fantastic music, but the beats were completely upbeat. Thaye Yashoda, the final song of that movie is one of the best fusion works I have heard where the mixing has been done so well using western instruments on a Carnatic song. It was very impressive.

Fusion music however bears NO resemblance to Remixes. Remixes are something else altogether. Now my views on Remixes, I have nothing against remixes tastefully done. The reason is,remixes often open the doors to music of the olden days to Gen X. One example is of Baahon Mein Chale Aao, one ofthe earlier remixes of Instant Karma. Fantastic Remix, the better audio quality of today brought out the magic in that song. Personally I dont see the harm in adding a beat or two. The problem is nowadays they BUTCHER the songs with the videos and the horrible words used between the song which borderlines to vulgar. I get embarassed to watch these videos with my parents, I can imagine for those young parents how bad it must be to watch with kids! I think it was those pathetic videos which brought the Remix videos into bad light. I was going over the discussion which was there once before in the forum called Remixes vs Revivals. I think a lot of songs have been good revivals because of good remixing. Another song which comes to my memory is Mere Naseeb mein Tu Hain, the remix sounded much better. I never liked the original. I hted the video of the remix though. I think thats the problem with many. The video directors should use their sense before directing that videos which are slowly borderlining into something extremely painful to watch.

However, as I mentioned before, I reitirate,presenting the songs in a tasteful way is a great way to educate and inform the current generation about great music of yesteryears.

About 10 years back or so, Sonu Nigam, Abhijeet, Kumar Sanu used to sing the songs of the yesteryears with a different feel. They could never recreate the magic but atleast they brought an awareness to youth about who Mohd. Rafi, Kishore Da, Mukesh etc are. Those are the 'revivals'which are required. Todays remixes are focussed more on skin show, more usage of english and punjabi languages to make it a club number. Pity is, in their craze for running behind club numbers, they are forgetting the difference between music and noise.

Again, its hard to generalize that they don't know the difference. Tere Naam went on to become one of the largest selling albums in that year and that had no weird music, most of the numbers were very soulful. Karan Johar's movies's music is always a hit. Maybe its the KJ banner or whatever, they stil work and barring for one or 2 fast tracks, the others are slow and very soulful. Parineeta was also a successful sound track. A lot of Shuba Mudgals albums did well. So, its not that Gen X doesnt know what is good music. The reasons Remix work is because of presentation. I think its about time music directors take it up as a challenge and try to get the new generation to listen to and appreciate Carnatic music without ruining its sanctity and purity.

My thoughts only so hoping I didn't offend any one.

Music is now about cloning'

Ustad Rais Khan was born into music. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia was destined to make it big in music. They hit it off as old friends do



His father wanted him to build muscle power, but Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia instead chose to harness his musical powers. This son of a wrestler preferred alaap to akhadas. And grew up to become the master of the bamboo reed, drawing millions of people into the magical sphere of his music. The jet-setting Chaurasia's romance with the bansuri began at the age of five, when he heard a boy playing the flute. Drawn by its lilting sound, the young Chaurasia followed him. After some time, when the boy put the flute down to have some water, he picked it up and ran away. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Ustad Rais Khan, one of the finest of sitar players, hails from one of the oldest and most renowned musical families. Some of his ancestors were revered musicians in the courts of the Mughal emperors. His taalim (training) began when he was hardly two, on a small coconut shell sitar. His first public performance was more than six decades ago, and he continues to impress music lovers across the world with his inimitable style. Also a highly skilled vocalist, the Ustad's sitar has been an integral part of the background scores of many yesteryear films.

Friends for many years, they agreed, disagreed, joked and laughed, making the Take Two as lively as their sangeet. CHITRA SWAMINATHAN recorded the conversation.

Hariprasad: (Looking at the photographer) So, you're going to shoot us?

Rais Khan: No weapon is stronger than our instruments. The melody is so overpowering.

Hariprasad: Wah! Sahab. Is baat pe kuch chai aur toast ho jaye. (So let's have some tea and bread.) (Completely at ease before the camera, they go about posing like enthusiastic youngsters) I feel we should have Nature as the background. (Seeing the reporter nodding) My thinking always matches that of a woman.

Rais Khan: But I don't think it works vice-versa. (Laughs)

Hariprasad: (Quickly changes the topic) Arey, look at this beautiful swimming pool (pointing to a big urli with flowers floating on water) Aren't you reminded of the lucky Shah Rukh in that ad?

Rais Khan: You are unstoppable. But I think such light-hearted banter has seen us through life. We have never got anything easily. We were made to practise till our fingers bled. We would walk, travel by bus, bullock cart and train for concerts that were often held in remote villages.

Hariprasad: These have given us the strength and patience to sustain our passion for so many years.

Rais Khan: But the way things are changing now, it is frightening. The term 'innovation' is acquiring weird definitions. The audience is so unpredictable that you don't know what they want.

Hariprasad: We are to be blamed for allowing all this to happen. In the name of novelty, we have been tampering with the sanctity of stage performances.

Rais Khan: How can you say that? People like us are still following the conventional format.

Hariprasad: What about the Gen Next artistes? They are victims of commercial compulsions. It's quite a balancing act, pleasing the audience, sponsors and event managers. So they come up with bizarre ideas to hook listeners. It is happening everywhere. Unfortunately, even in tradition-loving South India. I remember those days when I used to come (down south) to record music for S.S. Vasan's films and for months together tour interior Tamil Nadu performing with stalwarts of Carnatic music.

Rais Khan: Don't you feel uncomfortable about the present scenario?

Hariprasad: Don't lose heart. This is just a passing phase. The flute is my God, swaras are my mantras and the shishyas at my Vrindavan Gurukul (his school) are extremely dear to me. These are enough to keep me focussed.

Rais Khan: Don't get me wrong, I am not averse to any genre, even pop or jazz. But one should learn sincerely and then perform. Patchwork puts me off. It will never take you far.

Hariprasad: As long as discerning listeners are there, good music will survive. Recently, I performed a morning raga concert at the Gateway of India at 6 a.m. To my amazement, the place was packed with people since five in the morning. Sadly, today radio and television have become dead media as far as the classical arts are concerned. As for our culture department, the less said the better.

They feel their role ends with distributing awards. I have reached a stage where if I don't enjoy doing something, I move away from the scene. For instance, my friend Shiv Kumar Sharma (most Yash Chopra productions had music by Shiv-Hari) and I decided to stop composing music for films.

Rais Khan: One reason why I too called it quits in the 1980s. After having worked with the likes of Madan Mohan, Vasant Desai, C. Ramchandra, Roshan and Laxmikant Pyarelal, you feel today's songs lack soul. Thanks to the electronic era, music is now more about cloning than composing.

So, I prefer living in the past by humming gems such as "Piya to se nayana laage re", "Rashme ulfat ko nibhayen", "Mein to tum sang" and "Lag ja gale... "