Ranjit Barot has many feathers in his cap. The music director, arranger, drummer, and vocalist has worked with some iconic names in the industry such as Oscar-winning Indian music composer AR Rahman, legendary English guitarist John McLaughlin, and so on. At the tender age of 17, he became one of the most promising Indian artists and went on to tour with various jazz outfits across Europe. Back home, in the Mumbai film industry, he worked as a drummer and arranger for popular composers such as RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji to name a few.
Working in an era when there was little influence of electronic music, Ranjit says, “Technology has always been a part of our music. It’s been a part of our sonicscape. Now, the way it is used in the making of music, it’s just a matter of economics and things like that. We used it in a hybrid way, but the way it is used now is different. It includes a lot of good things and not-so-good things.”
The artist has had his calendar blocked for a while with tour dates. “Basically I’ve been more involved with projects with AR Rahman, and not so much with the Mumbai film industry. This takes up a lot of my time. I’ve been very busy touring with his band. And I’ve also been playing with John McLaughlin,” he says.
He reveals that currently, he is working on a personal project, and is very excited about it. “I am launching my personal project very soon. It is called Musafir and features a couple of songs written by me that have been sung by some wonderful singers like Kailash Kher, Jonita Gandhi, Neeti Mohan and so on,” he says, adding, “And then I have been working with my daughter too.”
Ranjit has collaborated with his daughter Mallika to form the band called Superphonic. “The band came to happen because I noticed my daughter’s talent and thought she must exploit it to her full potential. Then I revisited some material I had written and we started working from there. One video is out already, it is called Staring at the Sun,” he says, adding, “The plan for Superphonic for 2020 is to come out with an EP by the summer and hit music festivals across the country. I will also try to plug it in some festivals in the UK. We will be hitting the road and making music,” he says.
Staring at the Sun received rave reviews on social media. Celebrated artists such as AR Rahman, Salim Merchant, Zakir Hussain and many others have expressed their love for the track and the singer — Mallika. The proud father says, “I think Mallika is an all-rounder musician. She has a great sense of rhythm and a wonderful appreciation of melody and harmony. In fact, she listens to great music and often gives me some good songs to add to my playlist. I wanted to work with her so that I could nurture her talent and and bring it to its full potential.”
But working with your offspring can be tedious sometimes. Is he an overbearing dad when they work together or does he give his daughter the artistic space he would allow any other band mate? “It’s wonderful to work with her. She’s very easy person to like. We’re like friends. I have never treated her like my child when we work together. We have always had a very open and relaxed relationship even otherwise,” he says.
Talking about how he would guide her in her career as an artist, he shares, “I think she needs to be guided to be a professional and to have good work ethics. I tell her that there are no short-cuts and you have to start at the bottom. You have to respect everything that has happened before you got to the music scene. These are the things I live by, and I want to pass it all to her.”
The artist will be performing at Vasantotsav, a three-day event in the city that kicks off today (January 17). “You must expect the unexpected. Our performance is hard to describe. I will be having some wonderful musicians accompanying me on stage. We’re trying to come up with something new, like a hybrid, pushing the envelope with what you know as traditional Indian music,” he says.
Vasantotsav line-up
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
ST Reader Service
Ranjit Barot will perform on Friday, January 17, at Vasantotsav music festival organised at Pandit Farms, Karvenagar. For details, check the line-up box