MUMBAI: Musical virtuosity is synonymous to the sound crafted by acclaimed guitarist/composer/song-writer Sanjay Divecha whose musical career spans over three decades.
A graduate from Guitar Institute of Technology, Los Angeles in 1989, Divecha spent 15 years in the Los Angeles music scene recording and touring with variety of artists including Angelique Kidjo, Carlos Santana and Louis Johnson and played on some of the most prestigious stages including the Playboy Jazz Festival, at the Hollywood Bowl and the New Orleans jazz festival. The years spent in LA exposed Divecha to a plethora of styles ranging from Jazz, Brazilian, African , R&B and Gospel. His return to Mumbai in 2003 brought him close to traditional Hindustani and Carnatic music. A cohesive feel is what Divecha aims to achieve with his assortment of eclectic sounds.
With his fusion project – Secret – the band is set to release its debut album ‘Sanjay Divecha and the Secret’ on 4 August 2016, at Blue Frog Mumbai. Revealing the secret behind the ‘Sanjay Divecha and Secret’ Divecha elaborates, ‘This album is a continuation of my previous album ‘Full Circle’ released in 2008, which comprised borrowings from classical and folk traditions of India and various languages, mixing it with global influences. The difference in the new album is the treatment; it has more of an organic/acoustic sound. I started hearing a certain sound in my head three to four years ago and went on to forming a band with capable musicians. Eventually I began writing, sculpting and rehearsing the music to suit each member’s strength. This album is more of a collective effort, we recorded this album as a band even though I am the primary composer and arranger, it has that certain band energy’.
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The album consists of eight tracks, one being an instrumental and in various Indian languages (Kannada, Oriya, Axamiya, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Sanskrit) are spread across the rest. A melodious Mira bhajan sung in Hindi ‘Saanwara’, ‘Thillana’ a traditional Carnatic song offered with a funky groove blended with Middle Eastern instruments like Saaz, bouzouki and dumbek, sung beautifully by Chandana Bala & Raman Mahadevan and d a Lord Ganesh hymn called ‘Mahaganapatim’ mixed with an Afro beat made famous by Africa’s musical genius Fela Kuti are the three traditionally based tracks of the album. ‘Mahaganapatim’ is also layered with a funky horn section seamlessly harmonizing the sound Africa and South India.
The rest of the tracks are all originals written by Divecha. The first song of the album ‘Ota’ which means running, is sung in Kannada is also supported by a video. Talking about this track Divecha said,’ When I am mixing so many influences the biggest challenge I face is to make it sound cohesive and have been able to achieve it very well on ‘Ota’ which is heavily influenced by music of West Africa with flavours of Indian classical. Lyrically it talks about courage and has a very positive message. The other track I would like to mention is the ‘Xiyaali ae’. This song based on a popular lullaby (folklore) in Axamiya language which is very pleasant to the ear. Raman Mahadevan’s voice has created a beautiful feel on the track’.
The other tracks of the are album are ‘Mani Muthe’ sung in the Malayalam which is a blend of latin rhythms and carnatic melodies, a groovy track ‘Call’ sung in Orriya and the instrumental ‘Secret’. ‘Every song is a journey in itself and each song is distinct its own way. The album is an amalgamation and distillation of all the influences and experiences that have enriched my musical journey.’ added Divecha. Along with Divecha on guitars, Secret comprises of vocalists Chandana Bala and Raman Mahadevan, bass player Sonu Sangameshwaran and percussionist Sanket Naik.
Creating such multifaceted music is pretty natural for Divecha given his exposure. Having said that when it comes to Indian classical music there is extensive study done to understand the intricacies of the raag and treat it accordingly. Divecha follows a very free and open song writing method with no deliberate attempt to stick to a particular style. He lets his ears take the final judgement call; the basic idea being the end result should sound good.
Considering Divecha’s experience in the US and India, he believes there is still lot to be done here for the independent music community to flourish. Most importantly the need for more venues for music such as his are needed as there is a thriving independent community. In the west there is a strong pop culture and a classical tradition but at same time there are a number of parallel streams for all kinds of music with a vast encouraging audience. Divecha views that though India being a Bollywood dominated market the process of recognizing non-film music has begun and hopes for alternate channels for musicians to express themselves
