Harpreet Bansal is set to perform at the Norwegian Grammy Awards this year, blurs the lines between North Indian tradition and erratic, playful jazz!
Harpreet Bansal’s new album is a collaboration between the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and her. Speaking to Asian Voice, Harpreet said, “I was commissioned to compose a 45-50 minute piece of music, and wanted to integrate my personal kind of raga into an orchestral sound. I had some great people to work with, not least co-soloists Vojtech Prochazka on harmonium and Sanskriti Shrestha on tablas. It is released on Lawo Classics, which is a very active and respected label for classical music. I am more used to releasing on jazz labels, so that is exciting. I really like how it turned out!
“It is the biggest thing I’ve done so far, and that’s why I named it “Parvat”, which means mountain. (And of course, Norway is full of mountains!) I have made some long pieces before, but the amount of people involved, and the complexity of the work process, is not something I have tried before. It is more “contemporary classical” in sound than my other work, and more “composed” than, say, a band record. I was really lucky to have the help of J.M. Smørdal and J.Ø. Ness for the orchestra arrangements.
Commenting on the current report card of Indian music, especially during the last five years, she said, “Film music has become steadily more "western”, but this has been going on for longer than five years. This is only natural, as India is in so much contact with the outside world. It happens with everything: the food, the fashion and so on. There are so many great people working in Indian film music these days, but I have to say I miss a bit of the “golden oldies” feel, it had so much charm. There are a lot of exciting independent artists, both established and emerging. It is really inspiring to see so many people giving their heritage and traditions new ways of expression, I think this is the way music survives and evolves.”
Harpreet follows a disciplined routine to make music. “When I make music, I enter a very focused state close to meditation. To achieve this, I must have peace and quiet. I can’t really make anything with kids running about or in a messy home. I need to escape, so I go to my studio and start improvising, and let things happen. There is no “routine” as such, as long as I have the quiet space, I am fine. And coffee,” she told the newsweekly.
