Sitar player Purbayan Chatterji's medley of genres

Purbayan Chatterji’s travels have inspired the sound and style of his recent album Stringstruck. His experiences while travelling abroad have inspired the sitar player to try his hand at many genres in the same album. With singer composer Shankar Mahadevan he has composed a song titled Dwo. It is a crossover between a ghazal and trance beat. With drummer Bickram Ghosh he has created another version of  the same song using tabla and other percussion instruments.

Another song titled Peace of Mind from the album is a cross between jazz, blues and Indian classical music and has been composed with percussion specialist Taufiq Qureshi. “Even before the album came out I had been performing these songs with these artistes. Taufiq Qureshi had loved this song and told me that he would be keen to work on it whenever I recorded my album,” says Purbayan. Some other artistes who have played on the album include flutist Rakesh Chaurasia and music composer Atul Raninga.

Purbayan feels that the medley of genres in his album is a reflection of the current generation. “Our generation has sort of a split personality. We have the traditional side and the contemporary influences. For example, I am classically trained but listening to a variety of artistes has given me contemporary sensibilities. We are the cultural crossroads and my album is a reflection of this duality,” he says. 

He admits that travelling abroad, performing around the world and meeting musicians from diverse genres inspire interesting styles in him. “Meeting legendary jazz guitarists and big music stars like Coldplay and others, obviously influences you. I have also met a lot of Latino musicians. So my album tells the story of a musician and his interactions with different cultures and music from different genres,” says Purbayan.