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Futuristic beats

Suphala's music has taken the tabla to newer heights of international appeal

SOUND LOGIC Suphala: `Every popular genre of music is featuring tabla's infectious rhythm'

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 like Suphala can be heard once in many years and what an impact it leaves!

Suphala who?

Well, someone who learnt the piano at the age of four, got bored of it and began exploring the complex rhythms of the tabla. The daughter of a mechanical engineer in Minneapolis, U.S, Suphala shot to fame with her live performances across the U.S., and her full-length album, The Now, has just been released in India.

In an exclusive interview, she speaks about the amazing sounds of the tabla, the Indian music scene and more.

There are very few women who choose to learn the tabla. How does it feel cracking the sound of an instrument which 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.

Due to live performances, your music is gaining popularity in the U.S. Does the album The Now mark a homecoming to India, or is it an introduction for Indian music lovers to your brand of music?

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.

How would you define the album to first-time listeners?

It is the soundtrack to your life. Its got different kind of vocals, different sounds, just as different as your life itself.

Indian music has restricted itself to Bollywood and bhangra. As an Indian artiste, would you like listeners to be more open to newer forms of music?

I honestly feel Indian listeners are very open to all kinds of music. It's just that Bollywood and bhangra have become well known, internationally. A foreigner would relate Indian music to Bollywood or Bhangra. But Indian music, as far as people here are concerned, is folk music, classical music and much more. And Indians are very aware of this.

A. VISHNU

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