For German multi-instrumentalist and composer Prem Joshua,it was the sound of sitar that drew him to the land of raga. I am an old Indian accidentally born in Germany. I fell in love with the sitar the moment I touched it, says Joshua over a telephonic conversation from Goa a place he has been calling home for the past 14 years. Prem Joshua and band,a four member group,recently released their new album Luminous Secrets (Music Today,Rs 295). The album,which is a musical blend of Indian classical,jazz,funk,and trance is the musicians attempt to breathe the sanctity of a sufi shrine and Hindu dohas by incorporating the works of famous mystic poets like Meera,Kabir,Hafez and Abid Hussain. My passion is in fusion. Purists may frown upon it,accusing it to be devoid of any art and just a mix of sounds. Its not. Fusion combines cultures,and goes beyond the existing forms of music to create something thats in sync, says Joshua,who stresses on the importance of understanding of various genres of music in order to experiment with them. Currently the number one best-selling World Music artiste in India,Joshua learned to play the sitar from Ustad Usman Khan and Osho. Oshos vision considers silence as the highest form of music and ever since,Ive looked at music with a renewed perspective, says Joshua who has used melodies of the sitar,bamboo flute and soprano sax over tabla rhythms in the album. The album opens with a track called Meera ,in which the bhajans are laced with interesting darbuka beats and background vocals. Kabir bhajans and poetry by sufi mystic Hafez come soon after. One of the tracks Hele Mele,based on Raga Charukeshi is a courageous mix of Moroccan and Bulgarian influences with Sufi poetry while Nine Wonders and Kirwani Namaste also offer a mix of translated poetry interspersed with Indian classical ragas and western beats.
