“Music has a tremendous power and with it comes a huge responsibility too” – Prem Joshua
From the 1990s, multi-instrumentalist Prem Joshua and his band have carved out a new path in spiritual fusion music, blending West and East. During his musical journey from Germany to India in the 1970s, he added the Hindi word Prem (love) to his German name, Joshua. He has ventured into lounge and trance music as well, and his lineup has included musicians such as Raul Sengupta (tabla, percussion), Satgyan Fukuda (bass), Chintan Relenberg (keyboards), and Runa Rizvi (vocals).
Prem Joshua tours extensively in Asia and Europe, and has a string of albums to his credit: No Goal But The Path, Tribal Gathering, Tales of a Dancing River, Hamsafar, Desert Visions, Secret of the Wind, Mudra, Sky Kisses Earth, Dance of Shakti, Water Down The Ganges, Shiva Moon, Dakini Lounge, Yatri, Ahir, Taranga, In Concert (live), and Luminous Secrets.
See some of his earlier interviews in India from 2015, 2014 and 2011, and reviews of his albums Kashi and In Concert. Ragas, chillout, Sufi, electronica and jazz are woven into his music, along with instruments such as sitar, tabla, soprano sax and bamboo flutes. He has performed at the Siddhi Vinayak Festival, Shantipi Festival, Big Chill Festival, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Indigo Festival and Penang World Music Festival.
Prem Joshua joins us in this exclusive interview on the meaning and message of music.
Q: What was the vision behind founding of your music group? What new lineups and instruments have you experimented with since the early days?
A: My background is European rock and jazz, but I have always been in love with India and spent years studying Indian music there, a merging of Western and Eastern cultures comes as a natural process. Me and my band members feel a tremendous fascination and passion for creating a crossover sound.
Q: What are the challenges you face as a musician and composer?
A: As a musician and composer, one has to always move on, exploring new terrain, going deeper into the matter, never copying one-self or others. Music has a tremendous power and with it comes a huge responsibility too. To me it is not about some short-lived entertainment and distraction.
Through music, you can help people in experiencing an inner transformation and a liberation. Music creates the language for that. In a way a musician and composer learns to receive a creative flow of inspiration and translate this for the listener.
Q: Who would you say are the leading influences in your musical career? Who are some of your favorite musicians?
A: Singing birds, especially nightingales, the sounds of an ocean, a still night with maybe just one dog barking far away, this is music to me. Of course I have many favorite musicians but I am bored making such lists.
Q: How do you blend different musical influences and genres in your music? How do you bring about this fusion without confusion?
A: Creating fusion or crossover music, first of all you have to be at home in different musical traditions and genres. You have to understand and respect different backgrounds, styles, cultures, only if you feel these different pulses in your blood — can you really merge them, and only then can you go beyond them. It takes a lot of study, practice, patience, experience and playing with other musicians. You have to learn how to use the right ingredients, some things work, some others don’t.
Confusion only happens when you take the wrong ingredients and you think you can just mix them in your kitchen blender. But true fusion music is a fascinating and on-going story. Fusion music embraces cultures, it brings people together. With a little courage and sensitivity, it can bridge traditions that were considered unbridgeable. But it is not only about this musical bridge as such, it is about the new musical flow that happens on this bridge.
Q: How would you describe your musical journey and how your albums have evolved and changed over the years?
A: When I got in contact with the musical traditions of India, it was like a dam of rhythms and melodies breaking — flooding me with inspiration. Album after album just happened. You could describe it as years of “effortless hard work.” Over the last ten years, I have mainly been concentrating on giving live shows with my band all over the planet.
As we spend so much time on touring, inevitably creating albums has become a lesser focus. Composing continues but there is a longer gap between the production of new albums. I am enjoying the luxury of letting new ideas and compositions take their own direction and time. The ripening process of each new song is longer now, and there is a different maturity in the end.
Q: How does your composition process work through a main songwriter, or through collaboration/jams between your band members?
A: Mostly I compose the melodic and basic rhythmic structure of a song. As I am a sitar and flute player, these basic compositions are always rooted in the melodic Indian raga concept and not in a Western concept. At the right point I share these compositions with my band members who bring in many changes and new ideas.
In our band rehearsals a new song takes shape, then we start playing the new song in our concerts. The song keeps changing and growing while playing it on stage. Eventually we record — and things change again, it is a long but lovely process.
Q: You played this year at the Penang World Music Festival – what was your overall experience there?
A: The Festival was a great experience, very well organized, absolutely professional stage team, smooth change-over on the two stages, no DJs needed, great international bands, very open-minded crowd, lovely meetings backstage with all the other musicians; in short: a true world music festival.
Q: What are some unusual reactions you have got during your live performances?
A: Rather than talking about unusual reactions from our audiences, I would prefer to talk about the magic that can happen in a live concert when there is a mysterious circle of energy between the musicians on stage and the audience. This is the true magic and reward of live music when an entire venue seems to take off! Then any unusual reaction can happen but it will contribute and not disturb.
Q: What kinds of social and political messages have been conveyed in your recent albums? What is your vision of what music can do in this age of political/economical turmoil?
A: I see a political aspect in fusion music, as it merges cultures and traditions and hence brings people closer together. Fusion music is the opposite to what most of our political and religious leaders propagate. These leaders want us to live in fear and in separation from other cultures. Of course music alone cannot change the world but it needs open-minded musicians to create this musical message – and it also needs open-minded listeners to receive this.
We are connected with music lovers from all over the world, our music speaks a language that finds receiving and understanding ears worldwide. To me, it is important that there are courageous musicians who contribute to this world in turmoil through the positive vibes of their music.
Current lineup:
Robin Mattuck – keyboards, percussion, vocals
Satgyan Fukuda – electric bass, percussion, vocals
Prem Joshua – sitar, bamboo flutes, soprano saxophone, vocals
Raul Sengupta – tabla, darbuka, cajon, congas, percussion, laptops, vocals
Author: Madanmohan Rao
Madanmohan Rao is an author and media consultant from Bangalore, and global correspondent for world music and jazz for World Music Central and Jazzuality. He has written over 15 books on media, management and culture, and is research director for YourStory Media. Madan was formerly World Music Editor at Rave magazine and RJ at WorldSpace, and can be followed on Twitter at @MadanRao.
What a fascinating and beautiful human being.