YOHAAN/ AMOGH RAO
IN
INDIA -
HOUSE
OF
WATERS
We had the privilege of
interviewing the New York
based Jazz band House of
Waters ahead of their gig
at The Quarter, Mumbai.
Touring with the dulcimer. I'm sure that our audiences
will be interested how you tour with the dulcimer around
the world. What are the precautions taken for these
delicate looking strings and wooden parts?
Oh yes, it is always a nightmare to travel
with the instrument. I bring the dulcimer
on board and it fits in the overhead in
almost every flight. Sometimes I will run
in to resistance at the ticketing desk, but
generally I've been able to get through
any conflict.
How has your India tour been? What did you like the
most about Indian audiences?
The tour has been incredible. We were
brought here by the US mission to India, the
Jazz India Circuit, Teamwork Arts, and our
agency The Kurland Agency. Together they
put together a beautiful tour around the
country. Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad, Delhi,
Pune, and now Mumbai. The audiences
everywhere have been incredible. So kind,
receptive, and an absolute pleasure to play for.
You've been a part of the Ground Up Festival last year,
with other diverse bands from different parts of the
world. What would you say about your experience?
We did not play at this last GUM festival; we
played in its inaugural year 2017. Playing at
GUM Fest was amazing, and we're thrilled
to be back in Miami for GUM Fest 2019. The
community involved with GroundUP is
something rare in the business these days,
and we are very happy to have
the association.
Since you guys have come from different cultural and
musical backgrounds. How do you go about adding these
influences in your compositions?
Combing the different influences has
been very natural. We just play what is
within us. The styles themselves are just
details or logistics...;the only real constant
is the honest window we put into our
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performances and our compositions. As long
as that is there, the details of the music fall
in to place very easily.
Have you explored the indian instrument Santoor, since
it's so similar to the Dulcimer?
Yes! I have been studying with the great
maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharmaji for
almost 10 years. I first came to India in 2009,
thanks to a grant by the American Institute
of Indian Studies, and was fortunate enough
to start my studies of Indian Classical Music
under his direction.
What kind of Indian musicians have you been
influenced by?
Guruji is the obvious and most influential
of musicians in my life in many ways, but
there are so many people to look to outside
of his philosophical and musical influence.
Ustad Zakir Hussain, Hariji, Amir Khan
Saheb, are some of my favorite musicians in
Indian Classical Music, but there are tons
of other musicians that have fused styles
that we also deeply enjoy. From RD Burman,
to Karsh Kale, to Shakti, to Anoushka
Shankar, India has a wealth of information
to study.
As individuals, you are really skilled at your own
instruments. So how does the writing process take
place? Do you just jam or is there some pre-decided
composition or arrangement created?
There is no one way that we have written
our songs. Sometimes one of us will come to
the team with a fully finished piece. Other
times, just an idea, and we develop it as
a group. Additionally, the music always
changes. We tour so much that there's only
so many times you can play the same music
in the same way without losing your mind.
We try and keep our compositions fluid to
allow for these necessary changes.