‘I feel we are all aliens’: Playback singer and musician Rabbi Shergill, who was in Hyderabad for an unplugged show, says that he is still searching for “India” in Indian music.
Rabbi, who rose to limelight with Bulla Ki Jaana in 2005, is among the new wave of artistes who blend Western influences with Indian roots. He incorporates Sufi and Punjabi elements with rock in his music.
“Music is about adapting influences to your context. It’s about putting a little bit of India in it, like adding a little bit of our spices,”
says the musician influenced by the likes of Led Zeppelin.
But the disappointment is evident when Rabbi speaks of the current music trends. “Indian bands and musicians need to grow beyond Western influences. Most of our artistes are English-speaking elites who use hard-core Western instruments like the guitar. I am waiting to see a band that uses all Indian instruments and all Indian elements. I am in search of ‘India’ now.”
But this doesn’t mean a rigid classical form limited to Kabir bhajans and spiritual content, he cautions. The music still needs to be new. Rabbi does admit that it is the price one pays for a colonial past and an education system that keeps people away from their own languages.
“Sometimes, I feel we are all aliens. Commerce dictates how we live and India has become the receptionist of the world and we have a fragmented collective psyche while fighting a collective war.”
After his stint as an independent composer, Rabbi moved to Bollywood and worked on movies like Delhi Heights. He, however, does not believe that Bollywood clips the composers’ artistic wings in any way.
“There is enough creative freedom in the industry. Take A.R. Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, they are all bringing out cutting edge sounds,” he says.
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