Confluence comes alive for this duo
Santoor and piano are as different as Kashmir and Rome. But when Rahul Sharma and Richard Clayderman play the notes together, they come out in one flow of seamless harmony – a confluence of the East and the West.Their fusion album was launched on Monday in the presence of Bollywood heavyweights like Amitabh Bachchan, Yash Chopra, Adnan Sami and of course Rahul's father and santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
Confluence is a joint effort by me and Richard. We had really good sales last time when we made Confluence so this time we tried to do something different with Confluence II," Rahul said. Though Chopra made a blink-and-you-will-miss-me appearance, Bachchan who takes a keen interest in music was forthcoming. "It’s always great to be associated with music and especially that which comes from the heart of panditji," Bachchan said.
So, as more and more fusion albums come up in India, what do our talented musicians think about this trend? Speaking for the new crop Adnan said, "I am a great supporter of fusion and experimentation. I will always support whoever has the ability and desire to do it."
Meanwhile, Shiv Kumar Sharma took a trip down memory lane saying, "I have also done experiments in the 60s. I made what I called the ‘call of the Valley,’ which had the santoor and guitar. Such experiments are made in every era, it’s all about an artist’s imagination. What matters at the end of the day is good music."
So, there you have it from the horse's mouth, fusion is surely the in thing.
