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The Score Magazine | Indian Connection
Auditorium was decked with said wedding lights shaped like an ornate red rose . “ Shoshan means rose ,” he says of the soon to be released album with EarthSync . Shye ’ s journey to Indian shores had less to do with the Taj Mahal and more with another Indian wonder ; a concert by maestros ’ Ustad Zakir Hussain and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia in his native Israel . Determined to add to his existing Hebrew musical training , Shye began an exploration of classical Indian music in Rajasthan . His first muse though was Qawwali music . Trust him to do it with a twist , though . “ I use a Sufi music base but with lyrics in Hebrew ,” he reveals , “ Probably why they call me the Hebrew Sufi !” One more in the fusion brigade , I thought . So what ’ s so different beyond the Hebrew connection , I ventured . “ Not getting carried away every time you hear an impressive sound is the key ,” he cautions , “ There is a distinct connection between music of most cultures . Indian music is closer to Israeli than you ’ d believe at first sight .” Something most fusion artists say by principle ; to the extent of making it a moderate cliché . But not Shye ; comprehension is all for him . “ It ’ s like a pizza ,” my ears perked up , hunger is perennial after all “ Imagine adding greens and vegetables and finally no meat ” Clearly not a vegetarian sympathizer ! “ Or no cheese , for that matter , would it be complete ?” The questioner became the questioned – I disagreed . Satisfied , he concluded with an air of great knowing “ That ’ s EXACTLY how it is with fusion ; my kind of fusion . Whatever musical element you use , it ’ s got to be delectable … for all the senses !” Made it sound like the judgment call of one person to me “ It actually depends on anyone from the sound engineer to people around-what they think makes an instant impression . But , yes the artist does have the choice .” Well , now you know whom to blame ! After his debut album ‘ Heeyam ’ raised expectations , the hint of ‘ Shoshan ’ is certainly doing much more . A self-taught flutist , what interested me more than the styles he uses were the shapes and sizes of the flutes he favours . From large pied-piper sorts to the more diminutive variety Shye ’ s flutes are the stuff that make for weird humour . “ I play the flute for very few , selected songs ,” he says “ And it ’ s completely by choice !” If a dreamy voice that sways women effortlessly , is what you figured , Shye and his media frenzy was all about , guess again . With a compilation of love poems ( Souls Expressions ) already published , the softspoken romantic is looking toward his second publication . With an ability to move an audience who know not a word of what he is singing , Shye has been one of the few examples of music being a Universal language ; one with lyrics anyway ! I suppose the Indian props and folk musicians do help too . And his Indian connection hasn ’ t ended with the music and the culture and the labels and the festivals . Oh no , India might not be Shye ’ s motherland but it certainly is where he found his match ; matrimonially “ My wife is from Ajmer , where we now live ,” he reveals of his personal life . Come what may , it looks like Shye and his Indian connection have a lot in store for us . Indians love the rose , after all !
Photo Courtesy : G Venkata Krishnan
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