The new folk
In an interesting return to roots, bands are fusing folk with other genres of music to make it accessible, appealing and relatable to the youth.
It’s a music as simple as it’s deep. Rooted to the soil, soaring with the soul. Songs of feelings, philosophy, people. Of love and heartbreak, celebrations and loss. Of nature, mysticism, divinity, relationships. Of life. And death. And the essence of existence.
Folk music has long been woven into the very fabric of everyday life in India, whether it be fakirs singing songs of Kabir or fisherwomen singing about daily hassles. Bauls would sing mystic melodies while wandering across the rural landscape of Bengal. Ghoomar songs enlivened wedding celebrations in Rajasthan. Garba was the heart of festive revelry in Gujarat. And in the Northeast, villagers would hum folk tunes while working in the fields.
Time, urbanisation, the emergence of Bollywood and other popular genres of music made the folk tradition slowly fade out. But in an interesting return to roots, there is once again an upswing in folk music now with bands incorporating folk in their repertoire and fusing it with other genres of music to make it accessible, appealing and relatable to the youth.
One of the first musicians to take up the challenge of reviving folk music was Kailash Kher. Recalling the struggle he faced when he first decided to bring folk music into the field of popular music, he says, “There was no confidence in my kind of music, language or melodies. Producers called it old school and irrelevant. But I believed in my music and the more I faced rejections, the more adamant I became that I must take my music to the people.”
The singer, who incorporates elements of Sufi into the dialect, music and essence of his songs, feels there is a universality to folk tradition.
“Anyone can relate to the message these songs convey. When I was in Kedarnath last year, the priests said that they love my Jayjaykara (a song from the film Baahubali). The same song was appreciated by a tatted up and pierced DJ in Los Angeles,” says Kailash with a smile. The Padma Shri awardee feels that more and more bands delving into folk music is a heartening sign.
“Musicians are getting inspired by folk traditions and taking up the responsibility to represent their roots. That’s a beautiful thing,” he says.
The universality of the folk form has inspired many bands to reinterpret folk in their own, distinct way. Antarman, from West Bengal, composes songs in Hindi and intersperses them with verses of the original Bengali folk song. Hari and Sukhmani, from Punjab, mixes folk songs with electronic tracks. Kabir Café, a Mumbai-based band, has created a unique acoustic sound by including elements of pop, reggae, rock and Carnatic music to bring the immortal words of Sant Kabir to the youth and are now touring the world with their music.
Antarman
Age-old wisdom of the mystics
Folk music in itself is such a fantastic phenomenon. No one knows when it really began. It came before the Vedic Age and structural configuration of melodies. All other music evolved from it, so it’s vitally important to keep these traditions alive,” says Pooja Shankar, one of the Antarman trio, who have given forms like Baul, Bhatiali and Bihu (from Assam) new life through their half-Hindi, half-Bengali compositions.
Pooja met her bandmates, Rahul Mukherjee and Randeep Bhaskar, at a boot camp for a reality show. The three stayed in touch and later when they began making music, they realised that they were all inclined towards folk traditions of music.
“The words of mystics like Lalan Fakir are as important today as they were when he wrote them. In his song, Shomay gele shadhon hobe na, he talks about how one should grab every second for sadhana and not waste any time. This is a universal theme and as a band we try to get these messages to people who don’t listen to Bengali folk because they think it is something only Bengalis can relate to,” says Pooja.
Imphal Talkies and The Howlers
Songs of the people
Akhu Chingangbam, who founded the band Imphal Talkies, did not consciously choose the folk genre at first. However, singing songs in his native tongue of Manipuri meant that the band automatically imbibed some of the local flavour. It was after the first album came out that Akhu realised that the sound definitely had folk undertones.
“Most Manipuri bands either stick to completely traditional formats or are purely Western in their sound. We decided to bridge that gap and that happened primarily when we decided to compose our songs in Manipuri instead of English. We have also incorporated some folk instruments in our sets and that adds to that effect,” Akhu explains. The vocalist however does not believe that folk should be limited to age-old songs of the soil.
“Folk songs are songs of the people. As long as you write songs that are about the people, I think you can call that folk. Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger can both be considered folk artistes, yet what they sang was not traditional, rustic songs, but rather songs about the people.
“So, when we sing our songs of protest and activism in Manipuri, we are creating folk songs in our own right. That is how the tradition goes forward,” he asserts.
Taking the electronica route
Rajasthan Roots
Aditya Bhasin formed Rajasthan Roots in 2005 with the primary purpose of creating a platform for Rajasthani folk artistes. The result — in the form of Sufi festivals and the Jaipur International Festival — clearly shows the success of his endeavour. The band, to him, is just another way of bringing the music of his homeland into the mainstream.
“We make it a point to collaborate with folk artistes for our programmes and have brought a number of singers to the forefront of the music industry. We have also tried to propagate folk music by mixing folk tunes with different genres that the youth listen to. Music is all about evolution, and even folk music can evolve with time,” he says.
Along with bass, guitars and harmonies, the band uses formats like electronica jams with folk songs that the youth can groove to. “Electronic music is the music of the future. So, it becomes an ideal medium to take traditions forward,” he asserts.
La Pongal
Folk gets a rock spin
For Darbuka Siva, who formed La Pongal, the journey into folk was a personal one. While as a child he remembers listening to Tamil folk music, as a musician he started out with Western genres and even played guitar for a Bengali Baul band — Oikyotaan — between 2003 and 2004. It was while interviewing folk musicians for his radio show that he got hooked to folk traditions and music. “It’s like my musical journey came full circle when I decided to come back to folk music for my own band,” he says.
However, Darbuka’s interpretation of the genre picks up on Western tradition which has been a big part of his musical journey. “There are 25 different folk traditions in Tamil Nadu, each distinct in itself. I have taken these songs but given them a modern, rock spin. That’s where the concept of contemporary folk comes in,” Darbuka explains.
While the musician thinks that it is amazing that folk music is finding its way back to the mainstream, he also feels that each genre has its own path. “Every art form has its own destiny and folk music is no different. There is very little that you can ultimately do about it. However, there are several factors that come into play. And the main thing here is how much is being done to keep the form alive. That is where we come in,” he adds.
Kabir Café
Universality of folk traditions
Kabir Café has tried to maintain the basic essence of the Kabir school of singing that their guru Prahladsingh Tipaniya propagated. However, using elements like drums, guitar and mandolin, they have created an acoustic sound which grabs the attention of younger generations while still retaining the authenticity of their roots. Having released their first album, Panchrang, the group is now on their first international tour and will be taking the words of Kabir to places like Israel, the UK and the US.
“We feel blessed to be able to be a part of such a universal movement. When we started out a few years ago, we never thought that we would be here. It is an incredible feeling to be able to share our message with people from such varied backgrounds,” says Neeraj Arya, lead singer of the band.
Raman Iyer, who plays the mandolin, adds that people abroad are probably more aware of Kabir than in India. “People study Kabir as a part of their literature, the same as they study Mirza Ghalib. So, we are looking forward to what kind of questions we are asked. There is a Sufi festival in Israel of which we are going to be a part and it is incredible how universal these traditions really are. I think that is because Kabir’s message is so universal that anyone who hears it can connect to it. I mean, America could use some of Kabir right now!” he says.