I used to lack stamina and patience: Dhruv Ghanekar

Dhruv Ghanekarrsquos first album Distance released in 2009 And now the music composer guitarist and singer is ready with his second album Voyage which he plans to release soon A seamless blend that brings together music from North and West Africa jazz pop Assamese and Rajasthani folk and even classic rock Ghanekar has got awardwinning international artist Raul Midon FrenchCameroonian bassist Etienne MrsquoBappe Algerian drummer Karim Ziad Mauritian bassist Linley Marthe percussionist Trilok Gurtu Ila Arun Kartik Das Baul from West Bengal and Vasudha Sharma to lend their musical prowess to this collaborative effortDhruv Ghanekarrsquos upcoming album Voyage has a West African Arabic Indian jazzy folk and pop rock vibe to itOn a Tuesday afternoon when we meet the musician at his studio in Khar we expect to hear music which would leave us spellbound and we arenrsquot disappointed Vasudha Sharma and Ghanekarrsquos Sway with Me is a beautiful ballad that makes us sway our heads in sync with the music The latter tells us that this song is special to him ldquoIt has a certain universality of emotion that transcends the romantic pop song idiomrdquo he says Excerpts from a chat with himQ When did you conceive the idea for VoyageA Over the past few years Irsquove been listening heavily to music from North Africa mdash Maghreb or Gnawa as itrsquos called in that region and also music from West Africa Mali The music left a deep impression on me as I began to find similarities in their rhythms and melodies with North Indian music In the beginning I was just curious about how it would sound to juxtapose a Rajasthani melody over that rhythm or an Assamese voice over something else Slowly those conversations in my head turned louder and began to consume me Then I began actively pursuing the idea of working with musicians from that region and fusing them with Indian melodiesQ How was the experience of fusing the elements togetherA Due to my commitments to my commercial work it was difficult for me to find time to compose music for this album But the flip side is that I always believe that production values improve when you have the luxury of time The music has been recorded over the past few years in various studios in Mumbai Paris and Los AngelesQ You have worked with some very talented musicians from across the globe Can you tell us a bit about these artistesA FrenchAlgerian drummer extraordinaire Karim Ziad was on top of my list of people that I wanted to work with for a long time MauritianFrench bassist Linley Marthe was a logical choice as both Karim and him had toured together with Joe ZawinulRaul Midon is a genius singersongwriter from NYC who agreed to sing for the project after he heard the song that I wrote for him FrenchCameroonian master bassistvocalist Etienne Mbappe jumped on board to play on a couple of tracks on his visit to Mumbai Grandmaster percussionist Trilok Gurt with whom I have performed with a few years ago also guests on the title track I have collaborated with Ila Arun in the past on a folkrock project and she features in a song as wellQ Can you give us a feel of the music of VoyageA This album has a West African Arabic Indian jazzy folk and pop rock vibe to it The song Zawi D is really a tribute to Joe Zawinul who died a few years ago and has been a huge influence on my music I wrote Bare Bare for a commercial but I knew immediately that there was potential to flesh it out into a song which is in Assamese and it has a cool North AfricanArabic sound to it layered with Malian guitar riffs A few years ago I heard Tinarewen the blues band from Mali and fell in love with their sound Dhima which features Ila Arun has that desert music vibe to it mdash part Rajasthani part Arabic part Malian while Voyage the title track features Midon and Mbappe and has a unique marriage of the sound of a cigar box guitar and pakhawajQ How do you plan to release itA The album will be available digitally I will also release a three song EP extended play of my trio with Gino Banks and Sheldon DrsquoSilva recorded last year in MumbaiQ You sing compose and produce music Whatrsquos the most challenging aspect of creating music for youA Ideation and composing Capturing an idea is akin to trying to catch a butterflymdashthe more you chase it it runs away One has to completely surrender and wait for it to arrive Producing also has its set of challenges It requires great stamina and patience things I used to lack but have now become my greatest assets