Jonny Greenwood teams up again with Shye Ben Tzur and Rajasthan Express for Ranjha

When Ajmer-based Israeli-American artiste Shye Ben Tzur, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood, and the brass-heavy Indian ensemble Rajasthan Express first came together in 2015 for Junun, they transformed Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur into the setting for one of modern music’s most mesmerising collaborations. Ten years on, they reunite for Ranjha, a project that carries the same spirit but shifts the scenery in a surprising way.

Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur & Rajasthan Express reunite after 10 years for new album Ranjha

For this long-awaited follow-up, the ensemble moves from Rajasthan to Jonny’s studio in Oxford, while keeping much of the original creative family intact. Led by the horn-soaked title track Ranjha, which was out on May 8, the album takes the Junun blueprint and refines it into something more intimate and textured without losing its big, swirling energy, spanning 11 songs: Shiqwa, Marbolot, Ranjha, Shemesh, Shiqwa (Reprise), Ishq-E-Majnun, Saqi, Marbolot (Reprise), Aviv, Mustt, and Sharminda.

While the gap between albums may have stretched over a decade, Jonny tells Indulge the pull to reunite never went away. “The inspiration was always there, just not the opportunity. It’s complicated making the practical side work, but there were always songs ready to try.” Like many long-gestating projects, Ranjha also faced pandemic delays. “Yes, that was another two years waiting. But we got there in the end.”

If Junun captured the thrill of Western musicians immersing themselves in Rajasthan, Ranjha flips the script entirely. This time, the Indian musicians travelled to Oxford, bringing the same sense of discovery in reverse. “In a way, it’s a mirror image. The first record was a chance for Western musicians to visit the East and be in unfamiliar surroundings. This time it was the Indians' turn – they all came to Oxford and had the same opportunity to be inspired by being somewhere new.”

The move from fort to studio also opened up an entirely new sonic world. “There are more instruments around and more technology. It meant Zakir could play a Moog synthesiser and church organ as well as his harmonium, and Amir had other new brass instruments to try.” The result is an album that feels expansive without losing the hypnotic spirit that made Junun so compelling in the first place.

At the heart of Ranjha lies the same musical curiosity that first brought the collaborators together. On Shemesh, Jonny found himself diving deep into the Todi raag after learning it from Ben Tzur. “Shye taught me the todi raag, so I tried to write a guitar melody that could work as a backing for the song. It’s my favourite raag by far: something about those two semi-tones in a row is so beautiful.”

For Jonny, though, blending Western and Indian musical traditions is a balancing act that demands care and restraint. When asked how he approaches introducing Western elements into the music, he says, “Carefully. Often, when Western elements are added to Indian music, they tend to flatten out the detail in both styles of music: the ‘rock’ music side is brutal and simple, and the Indian side loses its subtlety and complexity. Also, if too many chord changes / harmonic changes are imposed, then the raag is destroyed. So – it has to be done with respect.”

The videos for Shemesh and Ranjha came together just as organically as the music itself, thanks to filmmaker Ian Patrick. “Ian Patrick, a very talented London-based filmmaker, took lots of footage and edited it together,” Jonny says.

While Jonny believes “a good recording should feel the same as the live concert”, he still sees live performance as something uniquely fleeting and magical. “Live shows are magical in their impermanence: the music is played into a room and disappears,” he says.

As for what comes next, Jonny is hopeful this chapter isn’t over yet. “I hope so: we are waiting to see if there is a good reaction to this latest collection of songs,” he says of continuing the collaboration beyond Ranjha. More than anything, though, he hopes the album encourages listeners to dive deeper into Indian music itself. “I hope they will be motivated to hear more Indian music – whether Rajasthani folk or Carnatic – and better still, seek out opportunities to hear Indian musicians perform live,” he says. “There’s nothing like it.”

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