KARISHMA D'MELLO
Rock, raga & jazz:
The Indian influence in the west
The sitar has long been an accessory of sorts, to artists
of varying genres. However, Indian influence in western
music runs deeper than the use of a single instrument.
The indomitable forces of pop and classic rock took
their cues from their visits to India, and eventually
each other to create new, Indian inspired sounds. The combination of jazz and classical never quite received
criticism to the extent that rock did. Perhaps it was due
to jazz’s natural tendencies towards the eclectic subtleties
that Indian classical enhanced. Any scepticism it may have
received took a back seat with the rising success of the
works of Yusuf Lateef, John Coltrane and several others.
The origin of this fusion has been long debated. Some
credit the Yardbirds for experimenting with the cross
fertilization of Indian and western genres, with their hit
single “Heart full of soul”. Oddly enough, the band did not
use an Indian instrument to create the alleged Indian sound
that it became known for, but instead, an electric guitar
was used to mimic the sound of a sitar; a popular criticism
for those debating against this external accreditation. While the Indian influence may have during that time
been regarded as no more than a fad, the true test of it
would undoubtedly be time. In that regard, the prevalence
of Indian themes, philosophies, concepts and mythology
as well as melodic elements and hypnotic backgrounds in
metal, rock and psychedelic genres today, would disprove
that hypothesis in all of its entirety. The influence continues
to live on, across all art forms worldwide.
The dissenting view holds that the first truly discernible
roots of Indian notes, was the Kink’s “See My Friends”. In an
interview with the Rolling Stone, Ray Davies famously said,
“When I wrote the song, I had the sea near Bombay in mind.”
However, while these were popular with niches during
the 60s, the single force that was able to push the idea
beyond its existing boundaries, into mainstream media,
was The Beatles. They started off with “Norwegian Wood”,
where the sitar was used as more of a substitute for
the guitar than in all its glory. However, over the years
their sound grew more deeply intertwined with Indian
music, perhaps due to Harrison’s growing interest in
Indian classical and his lessons with Ravi Shankar.
Due to popular music’s reputation of easily digestible
formats, the idea of fusing it with the complexities
of Indian classical seemed absurd to a lot of people.
To the credit of the critic, it took a while until these
genres truly embraced the more profound aesthetic
of the elements in Indian musical discourse.
Deviating from conventional chord structures to more
scale focussed, repetitive notes, the use of tambura and
drones, particularly in psychedelic rock, received mixed
reactions. This seemingly bizarre blend was used to
create a hallucinogenic atmosphere, which was seen as
borderline parodical to a few classical connoisseurs.
“I found it difficult to bring them to an understanding and
appreciation of our music from the correct viewpoint.
I felt, that many of them were involved with various
kinds of hallucinogenic drugs and were using our music
as part of their drug experience.” - Ravi Shankar
Whatever criticism he may have had at that point, his
experimentations with the fusion of jazz and classical had
begun before any rock artist had taken to exploring this
idea in any noteworthy form. His album “Improvisation” ,
based on his score for Satyijit Ray’s Pather Panchali, 1955
featured flutist Bud Shank and Gary Peacock on bass.
24
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com