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New sound, global appeal

Meet Suphala, tabla player, who has come up with a new album

FUTURISTIC BEATS Suphala

How often do we get to hear a woman tabla player whose album boasts popular names such as Norah Jones, Antonio Banderas and Salim Merchant on the vocals? Artistes such as Suphala can be heard once in many years and what an impact it leaves!

Suphala? Well, she learnt the piano at the age of four, got bored of it and began exploring the complex rhythms of the tabla. Daughter of a mechanical engineer in Minneapolis, U.S., Suphala shot to fame with her live performances across the U.S., and her album, The Now, has just been released in India. Excerpts from an interview:

There are very few women who choose to learn the tabla. How does it feel cracking the sound of an instrument that falls into a male domain?

Though this is a common notion, I never really felt any hurdle. When you actually sit down to create a sound, it's just about the music, which is beyond gender and everything else for that matter.

I continuously improvise and learn from my gurus, and the fact that I'm a woman has never come between us.

The tabla can be heard everywhere these days, thanks to World Music and U.K. Bhangra. Is it all set to be the mascot of Indian music, worldwide?

It has already become one. The tabla has become integral to life in India and is today the pulse of the country's music. It has graduated from being just another Indian instrument to becoming a form of drums internationally. It has become so recognisable, and every popular genre of music is featuring its infectious rhythm.

Thanks to live performances, your music is gaining popularity in the U.S. Does The Now mark a homecoming to India?

The Now is a collection of songs that have come naturally to me. The sort of music I have grown up listening to.

But you can be in any part of the world, and still relate to it. It is not targeted at any particular country or region. It is a new futuristic sound that everyone can make sense of. It's got different kind of vocals, different sounds, just as different as your life itself.

A. VISHNU

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