Sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee comes out with fusion album

Sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee likes to classify his new fusion album String Struck under the genre of Indian jazz.

He leads the only Indian classical rock band Shastriya Syndicate and has many classical albums to his credit. But it’s the first time he has come out with a fusion album, in collaboration with music stalwarts such as Taufiq Qureshi, Bikram Ghosh, Rakesh Chaurasia, Shankar Mahadevan and Atul Raninga.

The album has seven tracks having a mix of instruments such as drums, percussion, sitar, flute and others. “The concept of my new album is harmony. There is something in it for everyone, from jazz to blues to traditional,” says Purbayan. “These days, people want everything at one place. Be it multi-cuisine restaurants, multiplexes or mega malls, all facilitate this point. So why should music remain behind?” he adds. 

Purbayan believes that good music happens on the spur of the moment. He says, “If you try hard, you won’t get it. But if you just be, it simply comes to you. For example, the track titled Reality Potion in the album is a lounge track. I was travelling when I got the tune for this song in my head. So I simply hummed it and recorded it on my i-Pod. A hook line or a catch line is all you need to start with.”

The album has various layers of sound and can calm you down if you are in a very intense mood. Most tracks include the use of western instruments but the album on the whole has more of Indian music with a lot of raaga-based content.