I don’t think I’m more special than any other musician: Wouter Kellerman

Wouter Kellerman’s love affair with India began about twelve years ago when he was dating a girl from Kerala. It was she who introduced him to the treasure trove that is Indian music, right from Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia to A.R. Rahman and Bollywood in general. “I still remember watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham,” he says with a childlike grin.

The world renowned flautist won the Grammy last year for his music album Winds of Samsara, which was in collaboration with Indian composer and producer Ricky Kej. This year Kellerman has not been able to stay in one continent for more than three weeks, shuttling between the US, Australia and South Africa.

But he kept his date with India and visited Rajasthan for the first time to perform at the ninth edition of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival in Jodhpur last month.

While the flautist couldn’t get enough of the entire festival setup at the historical Mehrangarh Fort, his music left the lucky listeners agape at the man’s artistry.

If his first performance was about introducing the uninitiated to his world (besides allowing fans to indulge some more) and letting the Rajasthani dholaks collide with the Western flute, his second one, barely three hours later at dawn, saw a complete transformation of mood.

The audience stretched themselves on mattresses under an inky sky on the terrace of Jaswant Thada to hear Kellerman match his flute with the fluid notes of Carnatic vocalist Mahesh Vinayakram. The flautist broke some patterns with the dawn concert.

“I had never performed this early in the morning. I was looking forward to it the whole time.” An exponent of Western classical music, Kellerman is a stickler for practice, a self-confessed “OCD, who needs everything organized, written down, no freedom in the notes, only freedom of expression.

“So when Mahesh suggested to me a day before that let’s not plan, I was like what! But then we did not have the time to plan, so there.”

It seemed to work, because what they created on stage was transformative. Kellerman cannot stop praising Mahesh. “He’s a big talent, I would love to work with him in the future. I have worked with jazz musicians in the US and sometimes even after 30 hours of rehearsals, they don’t get it. Mahesh and I connected in a deeper way, as musicians.”

What’s amazing about Kellerman is how much he loves to praise his fellow musicians.

“While recording for Winds of Samsara, we’d have this bansuri player play a sample tune. He would play a few songs for about two hours and it would take me three weeks to just to get something even close to as nice,” says the man who eventually bagged a Grammy for the same album.

And how has the award changed things for him, we ask. “It has made a huge difference. Because people have taken note. We have actually made the same quality music all these years — my last album is not really better than my first one in my opinion.

“But it just took those years for people to find out about it. The nice thing about the Grammy is that it gives you a platform to perform, which is really all I am interested in.”

He continues, “I am grateful because it is a lifelong dream, I made my parents proud. But for me it’s more of an opportunity to do what I really want to do. I feel very lucky because music is so big and I am good that this little thing, but there is so much I am not good at, that I haven’t learnt yet. That’s for me to explore. I don’t think I am more special than any other musician.”

Music for Kellerman is not an intellectual exercise. “I like to keep it simple, I need to feel the music. A lot of the jazz musicians see it as an intellectual exercise. So they want to bring in complicated chords, do this and that and it becomes a more mathematical exercise.

For me, roots music has to come from something that speaks from the heart,” he said, while talking of the ingredients of a good collaboration. His love for roots music has found yet another expression in his latest album Love Language. “It’s about how different cultures across the world express love through music. It’s got one Indian and South African piece that Ricky and I did together. There’s a Cuban flamenco piece, a Greek tango, a Vivaldi classical piece combined with African vocals. The whole album is very eclectic. It’s something I love to do. I am always on the lookout for collaborative artists during my travels. I don’t even try to do it, I just hear the music and get excited about it,” he says. He’s open to composing for Bollywood too. “I know Ricky doesn’t like it. But I’d consider. There’s a lot of catchy music there.”

When he listens to a piece he likes, he tries to work on it and add something new to it.

“Not necessarily make it better, but do something special,” he says. On one occasion, however, he had to accept defeat. One of his favourite tunes is A.R. Rahman’s Mumbai Theme tune (from the film Bombay). “My girlfriend at that time introduced me to it.

I thought I’d do something with it for Love Language, but whenever I tried, I have had to eventually abandon it. That is such a perfect piece.” It’s there at the back of his mind though. He adds with a smile, “I will find a way.” And play it in Mumbai someday we suggest. He beams at the thought.

“My general view of music is music that’s not dark.” That's not surprising when it comes from someone, who, despite the sordid headlines in the newspapers, believes that we are living in the most peaceful times in human existence.

“I believe the reality is a lot more positive. My music can be sad, a little bit mysterious but it’s not dark. I am fine with people making dark music but some people believe you can only get through art through darkness and I really don’t think so,” Kellerman says. He believes music can be a first step to fight intolerance. “Cross cultural collaborations like these helps people understand each other. It brings peace.”

As far as India is concerned, his connections run deeper than his music or his love affair. “My granddaughter is called Chai, as in tea,” says the 54-year-old, with a laugh. Kellerman has projects stacked up till 2018, but he says he’d love to come back to perform next year. He leaves soon for Australia for the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) before heading to Los Angeles for the Grammys. “I have been working very, very hard, not sleeping enough. The flute meditation helps me,” he says.

Kellerman was ten when he saw his first symphony orchestra. After the concert, when his parents asked him what instrument he’d like to play, he chose the flute. “I saw most instruments had to be held in the front, this was towards the side, so I thought it must be something special. I also liked the idea of using my breath. The first day, I practiced for almost three hours. I fell in love with the flute.” Clearly, the flute loved him back.