Wandering Melody Man

Mase specialises in playing reggae and ska music and also recently launched his debut album titled,Meet the Shark,with 10 original tracks (available for download on iTunes). Among the popular Bob Marley numbers he plays are Three Little Birds,which he translated into Hindi (using his limited knowledge of the language and Google Translate) to Chinta Mat Karo; and One Love. He also plays a reggae rendition of Kajra Re and Lata Mangeshkar’s Ichak Dana Bichak Dana. Children refer to the Three Little Birds song as the chidiya wallah gaana. Mase plays the translations of songs and chooses tracks that children can pick up fast.

While in Kolkata,he played for slum children of Nimtalla ghat and they started humming the number almost immediately. “I was impressed by the ease with which the children could memorise the song,” says Mase,who also recorded a Christmas track. “The song is called Rock Steady Xmas,(inspired by a popular Christmas carol) which has hints of old-school reggae. It will be part of my next album along with a bonus track of Chinta Mat Karo,sung by the children,” says Mase. During practice sessions,he found that children responded out of a sense of curiosity and fun. That they got to sing along was an added bonus. Mase often picked up

spots in a city through help from

local NGOs,who worked with

slum children.

Mase,however,doesn’t believe he’s here to improve lives through his music. “I just love playing for an audience and I don’t think westerners can come and change things. I have not come here with any big plan to end poverty or offer these kids a better education,” explains Mase,who has travelled through Madhya Pradesh,stopping over at Orchha,and New Delhi,before heading to Ahmedabad and Diu. In Khajuraho,he recorded an impromptu set of four songs with a school tabla teacher on his rooftop at home.

Mase,who was born in Trente,Italy,moved to Britain in his late 20s. He works as a full-time busker in England and routinely travels during winters to play music elsewhere. “In England,I get paid money to sing. When I travel,I get paid via experience. I like to work in unexpected places and learn new things about people,” he says. He plans to visit Tamil Nadu next and will leave India in February,with a stop over in Malaysia.