Dr. Prakash Sontakke is a student of his father, the well-known Dr. R.B. Sontakke (who himself was taught by the famed master Omkarnath Thakur of the Gwalior Gharana). Prakash has attained three advanced degrees in classical music, for guitar, vocals, and violin. His inventive experiments in Jazz and fusion are strongly informed by his classical training.
It is highly challenging for an instrumentalist to capture the emotion of the human voice. Despite the difficulties, Prakash prefers to play the Gayaki Ang (vocal style) on the slide guitar.
Prakash has received the Aryabhatta and Ganayogi Panchakshari Gawai Awards, and has many recordings and CD releases to his name. Additionally, he is a senior artist in radio and TV and has served as a judge in several music competitions.
Prakash also acts as the secretary of Hindusthani Sangeet Vidyapeeth, the music school founded by his parents which currently educates numerous students.
He is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, director, filmmaker, innovator, motivational speaker, and traveler. Prakash performs a variety of musical genres, including classical and fusion, on the Hawaiian Slide Guitar and various other instruments. His performances are distinguished by his unique creativity and exploratory style.
He has collaborated on two Grammy-winning albums as a co-composer, vocalist, and guitarist: “Winds Of Samsaara” and “Divine Tides,” on which he served as a songwriter. Prakash is the only individual to have won both the Independent World Music Awards and the Nashville Award for composers, where his composition was chosen over the maestro Illayaraja. As an A-grade artiste from Akashvani and Doordarshan with over 2000 concert experiences, Prakash has toured extensively with his troupes, including “Dr. Prakash Sontakke Group” (Progressive Hindustani Crossover) and the International Trio “Lehera” (World Fusion). He also took part in the World Intellectual Foundation Seminar, which recommends Indian Governments’ cultural policy.
He collaborated with D Imman on the superhit song “Kannana Kanne” for the slide guitar and was featured in the video, which garnered over 140 million views on YouTube. “Satrang,” their second album, was a huge success after their debut album, “Progressive Raga,” was in the Top 20 at iTunes for more than four months.
Prakash has collaborated with various musicians on different projects, including Sivamani, the Ace Drummer, and Percussionist, for “New Life,” which has elements of Sufi World Fusion. He performs with British Saxophone Maestro Iain Ballamy and the remarkable Norwegian Drummer Thomas Stronen in the band “Food” (Progressive Electronic Jazz Crossover). He has also collaborated with Figura Ensemble from Denmark and Jeremy Labelle from Reunion Islands on the Cine Concert “Duvidha” and, more recently, on Jeremy Labelle’s “Universale” Orchestra, which has 12 other members. Prakash also collaborated with musician Eraldo Bernocchi on the album “Invisible Strings,” which features guitars presented in a unique and ambient crossover style.
His techniques and approach to slide guitar have been critically acclaimed. Prakash also conducts workshops, seminars, and lecture demonstrations to share his works on the slide guitar.
Discography:
Invisible Strings (RareNoise Records, 2016)
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.