One of
India's premier guitarists, Baiju Dharmajan, is about to release his
first solo album, ‘The Crossover’
Photos: Baiju Dharmajan; the cover of the album
By
Shevlin Sebastian
A few
months ago, Baiju Dharmajan had gone to Munnar to spend a few days.
He was accompanied by two members of the music group, 'Kaav': Syam N
Pai and Shabeer P Ali. One day, at dawn, Baiju got up and looked out.
It was cold, misty, and cloudy. “There was a strange mood,” says
Baiju. He picked up the guitar and began to play a few chords.
Thankfully, Syam, who had awakened, captured it on a handycam. Syam
suggested that that it could be put on the album that Baiju was
working on. The latter agreed. “When I returned to Kochi, I
developed it into a full-fledged song, called 'Landscape,'” he
says.
Thereafter,
he worked on another five songs. This comprises the album, 'The
Crossover' which is expected to come out at the end of May. “'The
Crossover' is the merging of Eastern and Western music,” he says.
“Most of the lead guitar sounds have a Carnatic base.”
Among
the other compositions there is one called 'Cyber Reptile'. “The
new-generation kids are so obsessed with the Internet, Facebook and
You Tube, apart from mobile phones,” he says. “They are crawling
in cyberspace, like hungry reptiles.”
Another
work, 'Philia', is an emotional one. “I wanted to show my love for
my daughters,” he says. At present, his elder daughter, Ahana, is
in Class 12, while the second child, Neha, is in Class seven. The
nearly seven-minute song begins softly and then explodes into some
intense lead guitar riffs, backed by drumbeats as background music.
There is, as Baiju says, a bit of a Carnatic influence, with the
plaintive sound that the guitar makes at times. It is attractive
listening.
Since
these are instrumental songs, people, who have heard it, have reacted
in different ways. “If there were lyrics, there would have been a
similar reaction,” says Baiju, with a smile.
What
has been unusual is that Baiju played the instruments on his own –
the lead and bass guitar – and programmed the drums, in
his studio, 'Mystic Island', Kochi, and mixed it himself.
But now
he has invited a few fellow musicians to play the songs with him.
They include Alex Puthumana
on the bass, Jayaraj on the drums,
and Lancy on vocals and the keyboard. Baiju, of course, will play the
lead guitar. In early June, the group will embark on a seven-city
tour – Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata and
Guwahati – to launch the album. “We are busy doing
rehearsals,” he says.
Baiju
is releasing the music digitally through international web sites like
Amazon and CD Baby. Also, through his recording company, Cochym (old
name for Cochin), the CD will be available all over Europe.
The
Mumbai-based Heena Kriplani, Entertainment Relations at Gibson
Guitar, one of the top guitar brands in the world, has heard the some
unmixed tracks from 'The Crossover'. “I love the bits I have
heard,” she says. “There is some wonderful instrumentation. It
seems to me that Baiju has really come into his own on this solo
album.”
It
is clear that Baiju has a God-given talent. “But he has backed it
up with sheer hard work,” says Heena. “The things that he can do
with a guitar are quite remarkable.”
When
Baiju quit the well-known Motherjane band on November 24, 2010,
people wondered what his future direction was going to be like. But
he has been busy, appearing on the Dewarists show on Star World,
a collaboration of musicians of different genres.
Baiju
played with noted US-based percussionist and composer Karshkale, and
Harigovind, a master of the Edakka drum. He was also a producer of
'Kaav's album, ‘Rhapsody of Rain’, and did a tour with the jazz
fusion band called Blue Fire. “We played in Mumbai, Pune, and Goa,”
he says.
When
asked whether he has any regrets about leaving Motherjane, Baiju
says, “Not at all. I have been composing new songs, changed my
style of play, and worked with different groups. I have associated
with all types of musicians. It has been fun and a good time
creatively.”
(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram)
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