Saath Saath
Just a few days after sharing Weltbeat host and selector Jean Trouillet's special Globalwize tribute show to the great Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan via Greedio, we remain in spiritual territory behind the meditative sounds of Indian sitar player and composer Purbayan Chatterjee and his lifelong friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. "Saath Saath" is the title of Chatterjee's latest album, performed alongside Chaurasia on flute, Ojas Adhiya and Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla. Recorded in Bombay earlier this year, the album "draws from the original spirit of the raga tradition" and "follows the passing of day and and night, with the first half [...] dedicated to the more soothing morning ragas and the latter night ragas, building to a crescendo."
What we have here are two maestros at work, channeling their early mentors in a virtuosic, modern-day demonstration of sublime chemistry, while finding new and innovative ways to approach Indian classical music. "Literally meaning 'doing something together,' 'Saath Saath' brings Purbayan and Rakesh's chemistry and friendship to the fore, and through their instruments, the sitar and the flute, shows the intimate dynamism between the pair, two uniting souls." Following their hearts, the two bring their wealth of experience to the proverbial table and, having "steered a similar musical path, experimenting outside of the classical tradition," shine a new light on the traditional repertoire.
We thoroughly enjoyed these recordings that have been getting us through some cold and rainy days here in post-summer Berlin. And so we invite you to stream the full session below and, if you're lucky, catch the artists on tour in the US and the UK throughout the months of September and October.
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