It was nothing like what the Indian ear had heard before. Small wonder the duo had an entire nation feverishly chanting their name, with their first album. With just the seven swaras , they lifted Indi-pop to dizzying heights! But, that was nearly a decade-and-a-half ago. Since, ‘Colonial Cousins', who, in their eponymous debut album, gave us the unforgettable ‘Sa Ni Dha Pa', have ventured into many territories. And, their latest — film music.
The uncrowned monarchs of fusion, Hari and Lesle (Hariharan and Lesle Lewis) are working on the music of Chikku Bukku , their second outing in Kollywood after Modhi Vilayadu . So, how was it? Says Lesle: “Oh, Hari and I are loving it! It's a bouquet of genres. Try this — there's Sufi by Wadali Brothers; Punjabi folk; Sabri Brothers' qawwali to the accompaniment of veena and Hariharan's rendition in Tamil. These, in addition to a medley of ‘pain-in-my-heart' pathos, old-school melody and funky-groovy-pop-rock pieces — what I call ‘very radio-able'! We've experimented a lot.”
And, that is where the difference between the South and Bollywood lies, he says. “Up there, it's fixed. There's no room for experiment. However, down South, you have the freedom to try out. Also, people here are receptive to experiments.”
And, receptive is what Lesle and partner-in-music Hariharan themselves are, for, otherwise, it wouldn't be easy for two creative personas to come together ever so often. “We've never had creative differences, and that's because we're both open to suggestions — end of it all, it's about producing good music. We enjoy it. If not, we could not have been together for so many years.” Makes sense — ‘Colonial Cousins' was released in 1996!
Talking of albums, how come we hardly see any today? Are the days of Alisha Chinais, Falguni Pathaks, Daler Mehndis and Bombay Vikings over? Lesle should know, for, he's the man behind many an impressive composition such as the haunting ‘Pal' (KK), the peppy ‘Jaanam Samjha Karo' (Asha Bhosle) and the finger-snapping ‘Paree Hoon Mein' (Suneeta Rao). “Well, there was a time when Indi-pop ruled. But, thanks to media, today only Bollywood gets attention — nobody writes or talks about private albums. Also, everything is available online, and you can download them without shelling out a penny. If no one buys, does it make commercial sense to make music? Today, music has no cash value.”
But, aspiring musicians out there never had it better. Isn't it the same Internet that gives them a platform to perform? “Of course, I agree. This is an evolution, and it has two sides. There's no solution to this.”
And, thanks to the e-revolution, people today have ample access to and awareness of global music. With so much of cross-cultural consumption, is Indian music not threatened? “Have you forgotten your idli s and dosa s simply because scores of Chinese and Thai restaurants have mushroomed all over? And, does music even have barriers? It embraces all cultures, even while devotedly retaining its roots. This opening up is so evidently a blessing to our music.”
However, Lesle is quick to point out the flip side to technology. “Today, with the help of technology, music can be made single-handedly, in the confines of a room. But , it would then be a monologue. Real music, music with life and soul, is about people, players, characters; it's a conversation. Of course, technology is important and inevitable today. But, it is also about sensibly balancing it with knowledge and instruments. And, more than anything else, it's about loving music. Hari and I'd stop making music the minute we stop loving it,” he says, earnestly. And, giggles: “I'd go fishing!”
