Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Blossoming at the nexus of tradition and innovation, where soul and technique feed into one another in pursuit of an ecstatic oneness, the music of Debashish Bhattacharya has astonished and moved listeners since he first unveiled his unprecedented concept of Hindustani slide guitar in the late 1970s. As a young man, Bhattacharya fused his love of Hawaiian steel guitar with his family’s deep roots in traditional Indian music, discovering that slide guitar techniques are ideally suited to the microtonal inflections and disarmingly vocal-like melodic cadences of Hindustani forms. In the process, he created an
entirely new instrumental tradition – leading the way with such virtuosity, sensitivity, and imagination that global music pioneer John McLaughlin
proclaimed that “Debashish is the master of the slide guitar. He has no equal.”
Bhattacharya’s latest recording, The Sound of the Soul, is a tribute to another pioneer of Hindustani music, sarod virtuoso Ustad Ali Akbar Khan – whose 100th birthday was marked in April of 2022. Built around the powerfully focused and absorbing “To His Lotus Feet,” which encompasses a vast range of textures over nearly 40 minutes,
The Sound of the Soul features Bhattacharya on his self-designed chaturangui in duet with percussionists Padmashree Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) or Pandit Akhilesh Gundechha (pakhawaj). The Chaturangui is a six-string hollow-neck lapsteel with the addition of three sets of strings: two drone strings on the bass side of the 6 main melody strings, two rhythm strings on the treble side, and 12-14 resonating strings on the bass side. With this configuration, the Chaturangui traverses the traditions of East to West; a journey emanating directly from Hawaiian to Western music, ultimately forging a bond between Indian traditional raga music and contemporary traditions in Europe and North America. The sparse setting of just guitar and percussion allows for careful examination of Bhattacharya’s awe-inspiring technique, whether essaying gracefully static alap-like stillness or surging through thrilling uptempo passages that showcase the jaw-dropping clarity and precision of his playing.
Open-minded Western listeners will delight in hearing Bhattacharya on his own, perhaps having experienced him as a part of McLaughlin’s Remember Shakti band (as heard on the 2001 live album Remember Shakti – Saturday Night in Bombay). Bhattacharya has also been featured in collaborations with bluegrass Dobro master Jerry Douglas,
eclectic American roots multi-instrumentalist Bob Brozman, avant-garde guitarist Henry Kaiser, British guitarist Martin Simpson, or African kora virtuoso Ballake Sissoko. He has twice been nominated for Grammy awards, and is also active as a teacher and instrument builder.
Given the immense scope of his accomplishments, The Sound of the Soul is a compelling reminder of what lies at the core of Bhattacharya’s art: A stunning, refreshingly pure document that will delight, intrigue, and inspire both familiar and unfamiliar listeners....more
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Includes unlimited streaming of The Sound of the Soul
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Blossoming at the nexus of tradition and innovation, where soul and technique feed into one another in pursuit of an ecstatic oneness, the music of Debashish Bhattacharya has astonished and moved listeners since he first unveiled his unprecedented concept of Hindustani slide guitar in the late 1970s. As a young man, Bhattacharya fused his love of Hawaiian steel guitar with his family’s deep roots in traditional Indian music, discovering that slide guitar techniques are ideally suited to the microtonal inflections and disarmingly vocal-like melodic cadences of Hindustani forms. In the process, he created an entirely new instrumental tradition – leading the way with such virtuosity, sensitivity, and imagination that global music pioneer John McLaughlin proclaimed that “Debashish is the master of the slide guitar. He has no equal.”
Bhattacharya’s latest recording, The Sound of the Soul (available on DATE via Abstract Logix), is a tribute to another pioneer of Hindustani music, sarod virtuoso Ustad Ali Akbar Khan – whose 100th birthday was marked in April of 2022. Built around the powerfully focused and absorbing “To His Lotus Feet,” which encompasses a vast range of textures over nearly 40 minutes, The Sound of Soul features Bhattacharya on his self-designed chaturangui in duet with percussionists Padmashree Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) or Pandit Akhilesh Gundechha (pakhawaj). The Chaturangui is a six-string hollow-neck lapsteel with the addition of three sets of strings: two drone strings on the bass side of the 6 main melody strings, two rhythm strings on the treble side, and 12-14 resonating strings on the bass side. With this configuration, the Chaturangui traverses the traditions of East to West and East to West; a journey emanating directly from Hawaiian to Western music, ultimately forging a bond between Indian traditional raga music and contemporary traditions in Europe and North America. The sparse setting of just guitar and percussion allows for careful examination of Bhattacharya’s awe-inspiring technique, whether essaying gracefully static alap-like stillness or surging through thrilling uptempo passages that showcase the jaw-dropping clarity and precision of his playing.
Open-minded Western listeners will delight in hearing Bhattacharya on his own, perhaps having experienced him as a part of McLaughlin’s Remember Shakti band (as heard on the 2001 live album Remember Shakti – Saturday Night in Bombay). Bhattacharya has also been featured in collaborations with bluegrass Dobro master Jerry Douglass, eclectic American roots multi-instrumentalist Bob Brozman, avant-garde guitarist Henry Kaiser, British guitarist Martin Simpson, or African kora virtuoso Ballake Sissoko. He has twice been nominated for Grammy awards, and is also active as a teacher and instrument builder.
Given the immense scope of his accomplishments, The Sound of the Soul is a compelling reminder of what lies at the core of Bhattacharya’s art: A stunning, refreshingly pure document that will delight, intrigue, and inspire both familiar and unfamiliar listeners.
credits
released January 3, 2023
The Sound of the Soul
Debashish Bhattacharya
Celebrating the Centenary of the birth of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
Track Listing
01. Ever the Flame Burns (9:24)
02. To His Lotus Feet (39:09)
03. The Sound of the Soul (8:33)
04. Colors of Joy (9:43)
Blossoming at the nexus of tradition and innovation, where soul and technique feed into one
another in pursuit
of an ecstatic oneness, the music of Debashish Bhattacharya has astonished
and moved listeners since he first unveiled his unprecedented concept
of Hindustani slide guitar
in the late 1970s....more
supported by 25 fans who also own “The Sound of the Soul”
I remember mention of this when it was being recorded, probably on Instagram. But I didn't follow up with its release until now, and boy am I blown away. I'd expected an all 4th Dimension recording, but what an inspired choice to do multiple band configurations. Loving the variety at my first listen!! Michael
Across these songs, Ethiopian jazz, African psychedelic rock and funk, Sudanese dance rhythms, and Tuaregi grooves mingle with the jazz and folk traditions of the Americas. Bandcamp Album of the Day Mar 19, 2019
