Hi folks---a little over a year ago, I traveled to Kolkata, India to study with the great Debashish Bhattacharya. I was inspired by his otherworldly playing and by his amazing instrument, the chaturangui.
While I was there, I booked some time and recorded some of my grooves and compositions with the aid of Subasis Bhattacharjee (Debashish's brother) on tabla.
On a subsequent session, I was honored to have Guruji himself play on some tracks, as well as his daughter Sukanya singing.
Well, i finally finished the disc!! Check it out! Thanks, Mike
thanks Andy---it really was life changing and life affirming at same time. The culture shock is more of the life changing part---seeing different way of life, etc and to be over there alone and trying to put some kind of project together with limited time/money, etc--and have it come out in a satisfying way--well, that is pretty life affirming!!
never thought I'd ever record an Indian-influenced disc (or play in a hip hop band, for that matter), but music and steel gtr can take you down some cool roads!
Debashish and Duane are still the DUDES, to me. The inflections and not just the speed, but the slowness too. Any steel guitarist who hasn't caught up with "Calcutta Slide Guitar 3" just does not know what that thing in their hand can do.
Lucky devil. (I know, you made your own luck.) How much contact & lessons had you had over here first? Any thoughts of adapting it to electric? Lap steels are often used there, I can't help but think somewhere in a back room in Mumbai, lurks a hungry kid with an old ShoBud...
David---I first studied with Debashish almost 10 years ago in NYC for a week. I knew nothing about Indian music, but had just acquired a Mohan Veena. I did maybe 1-2 more state-side seminars of different lengths over the next several years, but I always wanted to go to Kolkata. A couple years ago, I finally got a chaturagui and got serious about figuring out a way to get to India.
Studying Hindustani has def affected my electric playing. I think it has moved me away from a more aggressive dobro-centric attack to thinking more about more expressive sliding and slurs/glisses/ornamentation. Of course, playing a lap steel in 'raga mode' with tons of verb, delay and overdrive/feedback is pretty fun too!
