Dhruv Ghanekar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
There seems to be a special connection between music and travel. Musicians often talk about how travel experiences inspire them to create tunes. Likewise, the best travel memories are sometimes associated with certain songs.
Composer, producer and guitarist Dhruv Ghanekar recently released the second edition of his collaborative album. Journey 2Incorporating the sounds and styles of artists from around the world, the project has been years in the making. Since 2021, Dhruv’s journey has crisscrossed the globe – from Costa Rica to Boston, Paris to Denver, Nashville to New York City, most of which have been assembled at his studio in Mumbai.
The idea began a few years ago when Dhruv began recording tunes with Assamese playback singer and folk singer Kalpana Patwari and Rajasthani folk singer Ila Arun, who is also his mother-in-law. “I have always been attracted to powerful voices with a lot of character. By a happy coincidence, most of my lead actors on this project are women, which was not a pre-determined decision but seems predestined. Every voice has to be a force to reckon with. Journey 2 “She is an authority in the culture she represents,” Ghanekar said with a smile.
Other collaborators on the album include composer, lyricist and playback singer Vaishali Samant, bassist Mohini Dey, lead drummer Gino Banks, percussionist Taufiq Qureshi, vocalist and artist Nandini Srikar and renowned bass guitarist Tim Lefebvre.Journey 2 It’s one big genre-less groove party. Being fearless and open to different influences allowed me to explore many of my influences.”
Dhruv will go ahead Journey 2 Year-end tour | Photo credit: special arrangement
The album combines Indian folk music with musical traditions from around the world, including Brazilian samba, Balkan music, funk and jazz. “Each song is a fusion of two or more different cultures,” Dhruv said. Parts of the album were conceived while he was on his first tour. Voyage The project – which includes ‘Deuri’, which blends traditional Assamese folk, jazz funk and Brazilian influences, and ‘O Sorothia’ blends Assamese with reggae, dub, electronica and rap. ‘Suprabhatam’ is a medley of ancient Sanskrit prayers with drum, bass and hip-hop influences. In ‘Nacho’, Balkan horns and African guitars meet Ila Arun’s raw vocals.
Apart from that, Dhruv has started working on a few new songs just a few months ago, like ‘Jaatra’, which blends Marathi Lavani with Brazilian groove, Norwegian folk melodies and Portuguese vocals, and ‘Rasiya Chunri’, which blends Motown funk with Rajasthani folk. All of Ila’s songs were created a few years ago for a project called ‘Rowdy Rajas’. The reggae and drum-and-bass influenced ‘Jaadu’ as well as the funk fusion, ‘Bego’ were born from those sessions. As each song started taking shape, Dhruv began the process of recording their various instrumental parts.
Dhruva’s last public project was inspired by the idea of creating a stage musical play from scratch for the Japanese market Mumbai Star (2023). Like the tapestry of the city it shares the title with, its music is rich and diverse, incorporating elements of Kathak, Bollywood, and Broadway, all wrapped into a musical grandeur. The show received phenomenal reception with over 30 shows in 25 cities across Japan. Much of it was recorded live, and took about nine months to create. Dhruva described it as “ranging from high-energy dance anthems to heart-touching romantic songs, classical Kathak-influenced dance to Mumbai-style rap/hip-hop and an exciting festive fusion track filled with rich Indian percussion”.
Journey 2 will go on tour at the end of the year. This year Dhruv has also promised to return in his singer-songwriter avatar. “This is a great project which is completely different Journey 2” he revealed.
