Sitar Maestro Purbayan Chatterjee Revisits 'CLASSICOOL' With A New EP And New-Look Band

Sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee’s music consistently aims to bridge cultures as he searches for new voices, interpreting the classical approach in new and innovative ways. His new EP CLASSICOOL is yet another example of his future-facing outlook towards music.

CLASSICOOL is the use of modern sounds and arrangements within the parameters of Indian classical music. The end result is a very accessible, spirited and diverse mix of sounds featuring Sangeet Haldipur (keys), Ojas Adhiya (tabla), Nastya Saraswati (violin), Megha Rawoot (sitar) and percussionist Shikhar Naad Qureshi.

At the heart of CLASSICOOL is the electric see-tar, Purbayan’s own invention, and one of the biggest reasons for this 2023 revival of an IP that has previously seen the like of flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, Gino Banks, Ustad Taufiq Qureshi perform alongside the sitar master over the past few years.

“CLASSICOOL retains classical ragas and presents them in a modern soundscape and in the recent past, since I have gotten back to playing the see-tar – as heard on my last single ‘Two-Thirds’, I’ve discovered many new exciting tones on it,” Purbayan explains the reason behind the revival, before adding, “I have also upgraded the technology behind the see-tar and I wanted a platform to showcase these new sounds and in a new context as well.”

The four-track EP features music that would interest an international audience just as much an Indian one. While traditionalists might enjoy ‘Kalyani’ – which is based on raga Yaman in Carnatic music and its harmonic arrangements – more, ‘Pace of Mind’ is a song that Purbayan wrote many moons ago but has reworked it with the new collective with the hope of introducing new audiences to it.

“‘Pace of Mind’ is an old track of mine that has stood the test of time, has been performed all over the world by many, many great musicians ranging from masters to young and exciting talent,” he says, adding, “We’ve had the opportunity to perform both ‘Pace of Mind’ and ‘Kalyani’ with Ustad Zakir Hussain and Vijay Prakash and that’s a big stamp of approval for us.”

For fans of Western classical music, ‘Bach Minuet’ will sound familiar but Indian. “I wanted to include this for listeners who are familiar with Western classical music but I wanted to give it that Indian sound,” says Purbayan. “Bhairavi has a touch of the folk to it, and a see-tar solo, which can be enjoyed by a wide section of listeners,” he adds.

Though CLASSICOOL was earlier a revolving door band, the collective in its present state is likely to stay static for the next few releases. “This band is the right fit for me to showcase not just the see-tar but also new formats and arrangements that had been in my head for a while. Post releasing ‘Two Thirds’ it was logical that I try out all these different tones and sounds and bring some of the knowledge, that I had gathered even while making Unbounded, to an Indian collective where we could try all this in the form of some brand new repertoire and some pieces that I had previously presented in earlier work,” he explains.