Have you ever seen an American play the clarinet to the tunes of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s O Re Piya or to the very classical Guru Bramha? If you have, then you know I’m talking of Shankar Tucker. If you haven’t, now you know.
An internet sensation, more for the cultural mix and the uncanny Indian name that precedes his very American second name Tucker, Shankar is setting new standards in online independent music in India.
In the city recently to give the opening performance for The Park New festival’s Hyderabad edition, Tucker got chatting about how Indian music will always be a very deep-rooted influence. “I was learning to play jazz on the clarinet when I shifted to Indian classical music. I guess what drew me was that jazz afforded me a freedom within the music and has a lot of space for improvisations. That is something that I get to enjoy in Hindustani or southern classical music as well,” begins the 25-year-old, whose musical favourites include John McLaughlin, Raghu Dixit, Shankar Mahadevan and A R Rahman. Here know more about him in his own words.
My name is Shankar
My parents are devotees of Amritanandamayi and she had suggested the name Shankar when I was very young. I have grown up around that following, which isn’t particularly religious. But yes, there were lots of bhajans and I would try to play along. My family is artistic; both my parents were artists while my grandfather played the clarinet. That’s where I picked up the instrument from, though initially I really did want to learn the saxophone. My folks told me if I learnt the clarinet I could easily switch to the sax, but that isn’t entirely true. Anyway, that’s how I ended up playing the clarinet.
Learning curve
I began learning classical western music when I was young. And then I met Peter Row who played the sitar. It was through him that I was theoretically introduced to Hindustani music. I’d sit with him and learn the same raga, playing it over and over again. He would break everything down and give me a very detailed understanding of the music; it was very thorough. Then, I got the Frank Huntington Beebe fund and came to Mumbai to study under Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia. Things were very different. He would play two, three ragas and we would just have to pick it up, and the ragas wouldn’t even be the same. It was also a little tricky as I was playing the clarinet and getting the ‘gamakams’ was very tricky.
However, I was prepared as I had realised if I didn’t do my homework, I would be completely lost. I knew enough to keep up, but had to build from there.
Tweaking things
One of my major challenges was getting the ‘gamakam’ on the clarinet. It is basically not built for the technique as western music doesn’t really have that sound. You’ll find it very amusing when you see western artists trying it. I could’ve switched to the flute but all those years of learning the clarinet would’ve been such a waste. So, instead I modified the instrument. Took a lot of experimenting and rummaging stores for the right kind of rubber or similar material that would help me slip along the instrument to create the ‘gamakam’. I finally found it at a joke store on a rubber key chain.
Tuning the Shruti Box
Once my music was happening, I wanted to put it out there and that’s how Shruti Box, my Youtube channel started. I collaborated with friends I’d known and began shooting videos with them and mixing them on my own. Some of these videos were made back and forth in the US and here. One of my songs had a crazy shooting schedule because my travel plans were weird. I shot here with the artist and then was in Toronto and recorded a guitarist and then mixed the song at home. I think I travelled about five different locations. In case of the Iyer sisters, who I frequently collaborate with, they’re based in Washington DC and I lived in Massachusetts. So I would drive down to their place and do a day’s recording and come back home and mix.
Language skills
I don’t know any Indian language though most of my songs are in Hindi and Tamil. That’s basically because I could only find artists to collaborate with who sing in these languages. Hence writing lyrics and compiling own compositions is also a bit tricky. But I’m working on it and recently, put up an own composition. In case of other languages, I’ve worked with a debut director Vignarajan’s film that will also be dubbed in Telugu. I’ve just completed work on it and the album will be out soon. I do listen to a lot of music, but classical music is what actually draws me, so I don’t know how far I will experiment with other languages.
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