The Fun’s in Versatility

Known for blending Indian classical music with electronica,pop and rock,Kale’s episode of Coke Studio is an example of his genius as a music producer. On the sets of the show,Kale effortlessly switches between the tabla and keyboards and,in between,also records Hallelujah,for which he has given vocals. Besides Kale as producer and performer,the sixth episode of the show also features artistes Ajay Prasanna,Warren Mendonsa,Jai Row Kavi,Shruti Pathak,Johan Pais,Shilpa Rao,Gaurav Gupta,Apeksha Dandekar,Salim Merchant,Jayant Luthra,Monali Thakkur ,Ravi Chari,Benny Dayal and Sabir Khan.

The shooting of the songs for the episode was a rather straightforward affair,with the different musicians taking the stage one after the other,going over every bit of a song until it was deemed perfect,and then recording it. What was striking to note was how truly the essence of the show — to bring together musicians from a host of different fields to create new,live music — was realised,when a Bollywood playback singer performed a song with the guitarist of a rock band and the result was a beautiful melody. “This season of Coke Studio is about the evolution of music and each producer will bring something new and different to the season,” says Kale.

With more than 15 musicians present on the sets for this particular episode,there wasn’t a minute in the day,even besides recording time,when someone wasn’t on stage playing or singing. What one doesn’t get to watch on television is perhaps the most entertaining few minutes of recording,as musicians from different genres blend their music together with almost no rehearsal.

The episode features six songs,among which are Shedding Skin,Glorious and Hallelujah. “I had written the music for Shedding Skin about a year ago and was waiting to get into the studio and begin working on a new album. But the opportunity with Coke Studio came first,” says Kale. The song talks about going through the different stages of life,and its lyrics were written after Kale chose it for the show. While recording,much like the other songs in the episode,Shedding Skin — the chorus and one verse for which were written by the Bollywood playback singer Shruti Pathak,who has also done vocals on the song — seemed to fall into place almost naturally. “In playback,we follow somebody else’s thoughts. Here,we’re doing something similar,except we’re equally a part of that thought and it’s something we have come up with together,” says Pathak.