Percussionist Unmesh Banerjee and DJ-producer Aditya Malve share details about EP Shaastriya Sangeet Vol. 1
It took percussionist Unmesh Banerjee and DJ-producer Aditya Malve, aka DJazz, longer than expected to bring to life their first collaborative project, Shaastriya Sangeet Vol. 1, an amalgamation of Classical music and electronica. The four-track EP explores flavours of jungle, techno, and electro, and we catch up with them to know more.
What do you think is the hero of the EP? The dystopian soundscape or mixing of the elements?
DJazz: Hero of the EP? I think that would be technology, to be frank. None of the tracks in the EP can be played live, as multiple effects, along with the tabla, have been used. One could only dream of producing an EP like this a few decades ago.
The modern software offers so much that it has ultimately helped push our boundaries. If I take this EP back in time and play it for The Beatles, it would shock them.
Unmesh: I would say we were the heroes! I may sound old school, but I think human vision and artistry are the greatest marvels; technology is just a tool. Before work on the album started, we were going gaga over the Tabla Beat Science album in the late ’90s, early 2000s by Ustad Zakir Hussain, Bill Laswell, Karsh Kale, Talvin Singh, Trilok Gurtu, and Ustad Sultan Khan. That is a technological marvel, and that wouldn’t be possible without the vision and mastery of the greats. Now that it’s easily available to everyone, it’s up to the artistry and skill of the people involved. So it’s the soundscape we created that’s the hero! Let’s see if AI can catch up!
How did you make sure each track is different from the other?
DJazz: Honestly, we never consciously tried to make each track sound different; it just happened naturally. Each piece evolved in its own direction and offers a unique listening experience. The EP also explores a wide dynamic range in terms of tempo and mood. Whilst a couple of them (The Tiger Swami and Shaastra & Shastra) sound dark and gritty, the other two (Delhi Dystopia and Salaam Bombay) carry a more playful melodic dialogue between electronic music and tabla.
Unmesh: Every track is just a conversation between Aditya and me. That’s literally how we kept sharing files, kept adding/removing parts. Tabla and its vast language is a little vague and up to a person’s interpretation. Aditya interpreted my playing to create effects to the tracks. I also play other percussion instruments, but we wanted to use only tabla to maintain a theme. It was challenging for me as one has to totally forget a lot of the traditional grammar of tabla and think differently. That’s almost like trying to speak a new language.
What’s the story behind the album’s name?
DJazz: I do not like to be bound to any genre as such, that is why I called myself DJazz. To me, all modern music that we hear now has in some way/shape/form roots in Jazz. Apart from the above, I always wanted to produce a fusion album that blends Indian Classical elements and electronic music, and called it Shaastriya Sangeet.
Unmesh: I see it as a word play between Shastriya (can be interpreted as technology) and Shaastriya (tradition), which was also how we named the last track to make the meaning explicit!
