A UK-based musician brings his unique multi-sensory performance with the sarod as the centrepiece, and uses it to explore the complexities of the human mind
Gurdain Singh Rayatt (left) and Datta (right) interact with the audience at a performance in London. Pics Courtesy/Poshali Goel
The French call it jamais vu. It’s the phenomenon of experiencing memories that seem familiar in some fashion, yet novel and unfamiliar in their own way. Should this phenomenon really exist, listening to a sarod’s strings being plucked to create deep, resonant tunes that sound like longing, turmoil and reconciliation all at once would most definitely evoke it. London-based sarod virtuoso Soumik Datta calls the sound “something between a forceful gut punch and a bittersweet memory.” As Datta performs in Mumbai after a decade, with his new project Mone Rekho (Bengali for ‘remember’), he lets us in on the intricacies behind crafting an audio-visual experience using the instrument.
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Unlike his listeners, for Datta, the bittersweet memories are no jamais vu. They include leaving behind his childhood home in Mumbai and moving to London with his family when he was 11. “Overnight, my life changed. A new home, new friends, and a new culture. I discovered that we had carried my grandmother’s sarod with us to London. It was a sort of family heirloom. My dad had given me a few lessons, but looking back, I think there was something about the sound of that old instrument that reminded me of India, and the life we had left behind. And that is what drew me to it,” the artiste reveals over an email conversation with this writer.
Being one of the few musicians whose unusual list of collaborators features world musicians across genres such as Anoushka Shankar, Aruna Sairam and Beyoncé, Datta stresses on the pivotal role that collaborations play in an artiste’s journey, “To share an idea with someone, allow them to offer their spin on it, throw it back, and develop a hive mind between a collective team that are all focused on making the best work possible is an extraordinary feeling. Now, when I’m on stage, even in their absence, I feel their energy and presence with me.”
Soumik Datta
His latest collaboration with spatial sound engineer Camilo Tirado and tabla player Ishaan Ghosh will blend Indian ragas and time cycles with electronic hybrids and cinematic scenes. “Imagine yourself in the venue’s black box theatre space, where the sound of sarod, tabla and rain envelops you, where voices emerge from the darkness, where stunning visual collages let your mind wander, evoking memories of your own,” the artiste elaborates, adding that the performance is built on layers such as projected visuals, set design, surround sound, spoken word poetry and music.
“The human mind, how memory works, and the tricks it can play on us fascinates me,” he remarks, revealing his current source of artistic inspiration. “Today, we listen to music in the background as we work, scroll on our phones during concerts, and consume cinema and binge shows. We are overstimulated and distracted. Creativity can be the antidote. It lets us breathe. I’m trying to make art that is truthful, that isn’t evading the world, that tries to slow things down and make us think about our experiences,” the artiste concludes.
ON January 12, 13 and 14; 8 pm
AT G5A Warehouse, Laxmi Mills Estate, Shakti Mills Lane, Mahalaxmi West.
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