Rasikas of cross-cultural music are in for a treat. ARIA Award–winning tabla virtuoso Bobby Singh has released his long-anticipated album Sutradhaar (meaning “string holder” or “narrator” in Sanskrit).
The full album by “Bobby Singh & Friends” is due for release on 19 December. It comprises tabla music compositions of Bobby’s tabla Guru, Aneesh Pradhan, arranged by Sandy Evans and recorded by Bobby with Evans and other luminaries of Australian music including Ben Walsh, Greg Sheehan, Jeff Lang, Shenzo Gregorio, Zela Margossian, Lara Goodridge and Tjupurru. On a virtual call Bobby and I chat about Sutradhaar, music and life.
I begin by asking Bobby about the impact of connecting his worlds of being a disciple of Aneesh Pradhan and being at the forefront of an exciting circle of cross-cultural musicians in Australia. Bobby talked about the strong friendship he has with his Guru and the ways that Pradhan had already established strong connections with Bobby’s co-musicians through various collaborative projects led by them, particularly with Sandy Evans and Ben Walsh. “And then Aneeshji said to me, “When are you gonna do your project?” Seeing Bobby’s shyness, Pradhan went one step further, offering to compose the music, something which Bobby described as a dream.
Bobby also highlights the role of Sandy Evans whom he described as his “Australian Guru”. A composer and saxophone extraordinaire, Sandy Evans is well known to many followers of Australian cross-cultural and world music. In particular, her work as a collaborator and student of the late Shri Karaikkudi Mani is outstanding.
The familiarity and respect most of Bobby’s collaborators on Sutradhaar have for South Asian musical sensibilities and culture is noted. “We have toured India and they all know Aneeshji really well, they know the standing, the lineage and respect we have in our tradition. These artists understand the Guru Shishya Parampara.”
Of the track Awakening, released on 18 November as a single, Bobby speaks of the use of the rāg Gunkali and tāḷ dadra. “Aneeshji listened to jazz big bands where people solo over each other. When he first gave us the melody, as it came out we had kind of an idea of what we were going to do. But when we were in the studio, as we were playing, Aneeshji was literally moulding it as it was being recorded. I love the track because I think it embodies everything about the ensemble – Sandy’s solo, Shenzo’s solo, Ben and Jeff. You don’t hear it coming until it comes!”
Bobby describes what Awakening conjures up for him. “You wake up in the morning and there’s this really sublime sound. You’re just sitting there at the ghats of Benares having your chai and just going for a wander into town, nice and relaxed and beautiful, and suddenly the bus has gone in a timewarp and ended up in Delhi traffic and things are just going haywire and life has kicked in – it’s like this epic journey within ten minutes.”
Citing the trust Pradhan had in the artists to just play the way they play and their immense abilities, Bobby said, “It wasn’t hard for them to take this somewhere and go with it. One take!! No overdubs!”
Here’s a bit of my bol by bol commentary on the track:
Awakening… frog chirps, tāḷ dadra’s dotted rhythm, a low guitar string, piano and slide guitar, violin – playing their takes on the rāg Gunkali, a simple dadra rhythm and a simple melody… flourishes by Sandy Evans…Then the volume increases, Greg Sheehan and Ben Walsh make exciting entries – the tabla gets more intense and I can literally hear the twinkle in Bobby’s eye…
Then distorted electric guitar plus drums on solos which slay – Ben’s precision and brilliance in the drumrolls – wild shredding frenzied guitar followed by Bobby’s seamless tabla re-entry… Violins build tension, then arpeggios as Bobby goes off with Ben and Greg, three timeless rhythm companions! And suddenly stop! A gorgeous sax outro. The frogs again. Sublime.
I ask Bobby about his life in Northern NSW and whether he misses living in the big cities as he used to. He misses friendships from the bigger cities but says that with music he often gets to enjoy traveling to them as well as getting people to tour his region. He loves living with space, having room for a studio, living near some of “the most beautiful beaches in Australia, kangaroos in the back garden and kookaburras. Getting older you want to have that space. And I want my daughter to grow up in this kind of environment.”
Bobby Singh & Friends album ‘Sutradhaar’ will be released on 19 December. The track ‘Awakening’ is available for download. Listen and order through www.bobbysingh.com.au
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