Indo-Fusion Artist Anupam Shobhakar Talks About His New Album, Musical Instrument ‘Kali Maa’, And More
Anupam Shobhakar, a Brooklyn-based Grammy jury member and acclaimed Indo-fusion artist, was in Mumbai to perform at the Kala Ghoda Festival. He brought along his unique musical instrument which he created, the double-necked ‘Kali Maa’, an instrument which is a blend between the guitar and the sarod that produces a unique sound of Hindustani classical and Western rock/jazz.
Anupam is set to release his fourth fusion album ‘Liquid Reality’ that features musicians from across the globe. The fusion album which combines the Hindustani classical tradition with global sounds was released on March 14, a day after Holi.
On his visit to Mumbai, Anupam spoke The Free Press Journal about his artistic vision, global collaborations, and inspiration behind this groundbreaking album.
Excerpts from an interview
You recently performed at the Kala Ghoda Festival as the Anupam Shobhakar Trio. How was the response?
The response was amazing and humbling for us. So much love was shown by the public and the music community at large. So Swami Selvaganesh, Amit Mishra and myself, have started a new trio where we performed a lot last year, including the BLR Hubba festival in Bangalore and now at the KGAF where we played for almost one hour without any rehearsals or pre-production. We stepped on stage and the rest was magic. It’s one of those amazing meetings of the spirits that makes the music flow so naturally it feels like a past life connection with these guys. This is a rare thing in any artists’ life and we are thoroughly enjoying this musical bond we have. So much so that we have decided to name the trio – “Kalki Trio” and plan to do a lot of concerts in India and across the world come the 2025-26 winter music season. I also do a lot of projects with my Metal band Iron Axxis in the US, but I’m most at home playing music with these two powerhouse percussionists where we jam in the vein of Shakti where jazz fusion meets Hindustani and Carnatic music in a fiery and virtuostic way.
What was the idea behind your new album title ‘Liquid Reality’?
I was listening to a lecture about old folk songs from north India by the amazing Dr Robert Svoboda in which he describes Krishna in his own adorably mischievous ways aimed pebbles at the water pots Radha and her companions would carry. This gave me a deeper metaphysical meaning. Krishna is helping us unburden the realities we carry in our head by shattering our ego selves and shallow self image. Our emotions are chemical processes in our brains, hence – Liquid Reality. This idea really stuck to me and I decided to call my album that, so thank you Dr Svoboda for the inspiration.
On the album, as guitarist and composer, you have collaborated with various musicians across the world. Can you tell us something about these artists and in what way they have collaborated on your songs?
All the artists from Ona Kirei from Barcelona, Spain to the great Japanese – American drummer extraordinaire Satoshi Takeishi to Swami Selva Ganesh, Kanjeera maestro from Chennai and many others who have contributed immensely to the success of the sound this album has generated. As a composer one only dreams of writing music for such collective masters on their individual instruments. I’m truly blessed and honored to have worked with these guys among all the great artists on this album.
Share a few insights on the songs in the album?
The albums depth and scope is pretty eclectic and deep, you’ll have to listen to it yourself to really feel it. However some of the highlights include setting the deep and mystical poetry of Mirza Ghalib into a contemporary Jazz and crossover sound to adapting a Shakti classic to modern times and a fiery duo piece for double neck guitar and kanjeera titled Formless.
How long did it take you to record this album, finding the right musicians and sound?
The total time from initial composing to deep production and writing, arranging, mixing and mastering took about six months. I was very focused on getting everything in the right place. Attention to detail is an absolute obsession with me whether in my playing or writing.
Tell us about your first brush with western music and classical music?
As I can remember growing up in urban Mumbai it was bands like Led Zeppelin, Metallica or American guitarists like Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen and later guys like John Coltrane, Beethoven and Bach that shaped my musical consciousness. Indian music came to me in my teens when my dad encouraged me to go listen to the legendary Ustad Ali Akbar Khan on sarod when he was visiting Mumbai. That concert changed my life. I approached my father and asked him to get me a sarod. He obliged and the rest is history.
Who trained you in the sarod?
My training in the sarod was initially by Suresh Vyas, a disciple of the greatest master Annapurna Devi. My teacher for many years was the great Ustad Aashish Khan of the Maihar Gharana. He was the son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
You designed an instrument called ‘Kali Maa’ that has the sarod and guitar. Tell us about this unique instrument.
Growing up in Mumbai in the late 90s early 2000s, I was really into the high octane guitar virtuosos such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Eddie Van Halen and many more. I took up the guitar seriously and started performing in my early teens. As mentioned to you I became very proficient on the guitar by the time I was only 12 or 13 years old and was performing with professional musicians twice my age. When I was 15 or 16 I discovered the music of the great sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and that really changed the trajectory of my life and I took up the deep music and classical mysteries of Bharatiya Shastra Sangeet, learning and performing with great masters like my teacher and Guru Ustad Aashish Khan of the Maihar Gharana. Under him the mysteries of complex forms of music like Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, opened up to me. When I moved to the west, being the musical seeker that I am, I started working with world class jazz and classical musicians and composers from America that re-ignited my early guitar spark and I reconnected with my childhood instrument albeit armed with all the classical knowledge and western foundational learning. I needed an instrument that could handle both eastern and western music with equal aplomb as when I was playing the guitar I was missing the sarod and vice versa. The idea of Kali Maa came to me in a dream literally and my new instrument was born which could handle both eastern and western music on equal terms. My family and forefathers for generations have been devotees of Maa Kali, so I decided to honor my familial heritage by naming the instrument Kali Maa.
You have released three world fusion albums, and one classical Indian music album. In your own words, how different are they sound wise?
All my albums are a reflection of where I am musically at that point in space and time. I released a sarod album with the great tabla maestro Anindo Chatterjee a few years ago and followed that up with a double neck guitar classical album and an Iron Axxis album followed by the new album ‘Liquid Reality’.
Your first music video ‘Formless’ from ‘Liquid Reality’ is out.
‘Formless’ was conceived as a duo with Swami Selvaganesh and myself. I wanted to write a piece focusing on the dialogue between double neck guitars and the kanjeera. It’s easier said than done, as Indian music has a very sophisticated system of tala or rhythm. As far as the video goes, we wanted to grab that New York hip urban vibe, as I’m a New Yorker and Swami spends more than half a year over here making him a New Yorker too. We shot at the magnificent Domino park in my neighborhood overlooking the majestic Manhattan skyline which is always awe inspiring and reminds us that anything is possible in music and life. New York is a high intensity city and we wanted to capture that feeling in the video. As for the sound, I had to fall back on my sarod training for this. It’s also important to me as a composer who’s trained in the western sense to think of the structure and flow as ‘movements’ rather than as sections. Each movement of the piece must reflect and communicate a fully formed musical identity. I think we achieved that largely because Swami and I play and perform a lot together. We understand where the other is going in a musical sense.
Tell us a bit about your journey from Kolkata to Mumbai and then moving to the US, how did you make the shift?
I come from a very deeply musical family with generational musical knowledge and acumen going back to my great grandparents and beyond. I have too many awards and distinctions to tell you about. My dad was the odd one out being a very successful corporate professional and a management guru. I was born in Kolkata but we moved to Mumbai when I was maybe 8 months old so I have no memories of Kolkata. I’m a Mumbaikar first and a New Yorker being an Indian American. My mom was an amazing classical singer and my elder brother is a filmmaker based in Berlin, Germany. Pretty electric family I guess. My education is firmly in music and music alone. My father was extremely cautious and careful that I did not waste my formative years in any mainstream and generic college environment gaining a so-called education that would be of no consequence and useful to me in my life goals. I was encouraged to pursue serious music and practice and learn daily for close to 10-12 hours a day. This was again very progressive and forward thinking as Indian parents. I wouldn’t be where I am if not for them and I’m eternally grateful for that.
What music do you usually listen to in your free time?
I love to make genre bending music and tour all over the word with it and I love my job. I listen to no music at my free time if I have it. Music is always playing my head or through my fingers. To relax I do the opposite of that by exercising or running or just chilling out with family and friends.
