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Express way to fame

LIZA GEORGE

Raghav Sachar is the musician behind the album `Kabul Express.'

Photo: S. Gopakumar

MUSICAL PRODIGY: Raghav Sachar says his music is a blend of different cultures.

Raghav Sachar is young, hot, and happening. His songs in his debut film album `Kabul Express' made people sit up and take notice of this up-and-coming musician and composer.

"Actually I was asked to do one track. They liked my work and asked me to compose more songs and that is how the album was born. I sang most of the songs in the album," says Raghav who is the instrumentalist for several Hindi films including `Kal Ho Na Ho,' `Dhoom,' and `Honeymoon Travels.'

All of 25, Raghav may be termed a musical genius as he plays 25 musical instruments sans any training.

"It was my father who got me interested in music. I was four years old when he gave me a harmonica on my birthday. I then made a deal with him. For each birthday, he would have to gift me a musical instrument and I wouldn't ask him for anything else throughout the year," says Raghav.

And the deal worked out well. With a good ear for music, he picked up tunes from `Chitrahaar' of which he was an avid viewer. "After the show was over, I would try out the tune on my instruments. The first piece I picked up was `Hai Apna Dil To Awara.'"

The only formal training Raghav had was on the saxophone. "I concentrated on the saxophone when I did my Bachelor of Music from the Monash University in Australia," says Raghav.

The saxonet

According to Raghav, his knowledge of the instruments is a plus as he can express himself in different ways.

"For instance in `Kabul Express,' I have used the saxonet, which is a combination of the saxophone and the clarinet. It is an instrument that I got from Germany. People want a fresh turn to music and introducing new instruments helps. I try to pick up a new instrument from each place I travel to and learn to play it."

But learning how to play them is not always an easy task. While it is easy learning the basics, he says it gets difficult as you advance in stage.

He also finds playing wind instruments like the flute and the saxophone a challenge.

World music

A fan of Sting, Kishore Kumar and R. D Burman, Raghav, who calls his kind of music a cultural amalgamation, says his music can also be broadly termed as world music. He says, "It is a blend of different cultures due to my travels and thus, a cultural amalgamation," he says.

Raghav's entry into the world of music happened through his first album `Raghav, For the First Time.'

An instrumental album, it "had originals mixed with old Hindi songs."

`Raghav-24 carat,' his second album, had him more as a composer and singer than an instrumentalist.

The artist who is currently working on his untitled third album, which will hit the stands in May, says he is also busy with the music direction of two untitled movies.

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