India’s Debashish Bhattacharya is one of the greatest slide guitarists in the world. He has, both through creating the actual design of the instrument, and with his incredible talent and discipline, elevated the Hindustani slide guitar to be the highest evolution of slide guitar anywhere. Debashish started Indian music from his parents before he learned the alphabet.
Born into a musical family on January 12, 1963, in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, Debashish Bhattacharya learned to sing before he could talk. At the age of 3, he started playing the Hawaiian lap steel guitar, giving his first major concert on All India Radio at 4.
In his childhood he mastered many Indian classical instrumental styles as well as vocal music from different musical teachers in Calcutta. He became a disciple and student of Brij Bhushan Khabra, the father of Indian classical guitar, for 10 years, and also trained under Ajoy Chakrabarty, the eminent Indian vocalist. He also studied with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
The first slide guitarist to receive the President of India Award in 1984 he was made a Pandit (master) at 40. Since then, he has been established as one of the world’s most outstanding slide guitarists by tours of inspirational live concerts and bestselling albums, including the breathtaking collaboration with slide guitarist Bob Brozman, Mahima. A designer, as well as a virtuoso, Debashish has designed nineteen-slide guitars since he began experimenting in his twenties.
To develop his playing, he has undergone decades of disciplined study of Indian vocal technique combined with his instrumental work. Debashish can sing perfectly in parallel with every blindingly fast melody he plays. Possessed of a very open musical mind, Debashish is eager and more than qualified to collaborate and truly blend with musicians from any other country.
Since 1996, his collaboration with Bob Brozman resulted in two “World of Slide” tours of the USA and Canada, plus more appearances with Bob, and with The International Troupe, in Canada and South Africa. Debashish also toured Europe and recorded with John McLaughlin with Shakti. In 2002, Debashish returned to Quebec with Bob.
All the guitars heard on 3: Calcutta Slide-Guitar 3: Calcutta Slide-Guitar (Riverboat TUGCD1036), his 2005 album, are unique instruments designed by Debashish himself, a Trinity of Guitars, Chaturangui, Gandharvi and Anandi, representing three generations of instruments, while also continuing a thousand-year tradition of music. 3: Calcutta Slide-Guitar is shaped from Debashish’s original three-finger picking technique.
O Shakuntala! (2009) is an interpretation of the immortal Indian masterpiece of eternal love and features three slide guitars designed and developed by Debashish himself. A musical adventure fusing two great Indian musical traditions – Karnatic music from the south and Hindustani music from the north – it celebrates love in all its many wonderful rasas (emotions).
Performing alongside Debashish are his brother Subhasis – a prominent name on the Indian music scene – on the tabla, and India’s only female pakhawaj (wooden barrel drum) and mridangam (drum) artists, Chitrangana Agle Reshwal and Charu Hariharan. Together, they developed a musical journey reflecting an epic tale of immortal love.
Based on Abhigyana Shakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala), an epic love story written by the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, the music traces the legend of King Dushyanta and the beautiful Shakuntala. In the tale, they fall in love and marry but an evil sage curses Shakuntala, keeping them apart. Thankfully, the spell is finally broken and they are happily reunited for all eternity.
This album traces the story of the two lovers from the opening track ‘Megha Re’, meaning ‘Clouds’. A traditional classical rendition of the raga megh, full of deep slides and melodic phrases, the track symbolizes when King Dushyanta first meets Shakuntala when out hunting. The music moves through ‘Shringar’ (‘Courtship’) to their marriage on ‘Samarpan’ (‘Surrender’). A raga megh with the pakhawaj accompanying with a saath sangaat, Debashish explores what happens when you surrender to love as Shakuntala does when she marries Dushyanta in the absence of her father.
Debashish’s melody is the central theme in ‘Milaap’ (‘Let’s Meet’), where rhythms from pakhawaj, tabla and mridangam converge, representing Dushyanta and Shakuntala’s meeting. ‘Chahat’ (‘Longing’) reflects Shakuntala’s feelings after she is cursed and separated from the King, and, ‘Sparsh’ (‘The Touch’) features Debashish playing a morning pentatonic raag gunkeli, to symbolize a new passage of hope. On ‘Amantran’ (‘Invitation’), Debashish blends a north Indian raag with a south Indian rhythm in lilting passages as Shakuntala joyfully goes to be reunited with Dushyanta.
In December 2022, Abstract Logix announced the release of a new album titled “The Sound of the Soul.”
Guitar maestro John Mclaughlin said about the new recording: “The friendship and admiration between master slide guitarist Debashish Battacharya and myself goes back over 20 years.
The first time we played together was during The Shakti and Friends tour of India in 2000. Debashish appears on the recording we made during that tour, and he also appears on the album Floating Point I recorded several years later.
I am really happy to listen to his latest album called The Sound of the Soul.
Debashish is The Master of the slide guitar. From his soulful playing in the introductions (the Alaps) to his compositions, to the brilliance of his up-tempo playing, he has no equal. A must for all guitarists!”
Discography:
Ahir Bhairav & Bhairavi (India Archives, 1992)
Calcutta to California (Frequency Glide, 1996)
Raga Bhimpalasi (India Archives, 1997)
Sunrise (Sagarika Music, 1998)
Hindustani Slide Guitar (India Archives, 2000)
Mahima (Riverboat, 2003)
Till Death Do Us Part (Saregama, 2004)
Season of Life (Saregama, 2004)
The Melting Pot Overfloweth (Saregama, 2004)
Love’s Dawn (Saregama, 2004)
Calcutta Slide-Guitar, Vol. 3 (Riverboat, 2005)
Raga Pahadi Jhinjhoti (India Archives, 2007)
Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar (Riverboat, 2008)
O Shakuntala! (Riverboat, 2009)
Beyond the Ragasphere (Riverboat, 2013)
Madeira: If Music Could Intoxicate (Debashish Bhattacharya, 2013)
Slide-Guitar Ragas From Dusk Till Dawn (Riverboat, 2015)
Hawaii to Calcutta: A Tribute to Tau Moe (Riverboat, 2017)
The Sound of the Soul
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.