He wears his many hats with equal ease. And makes it all seem so effortless. The wonderfully talented KAILASH KHER is set to perform live in Toronto next month and took some time out of his busy schedule for a nice, long chat...
Multi-lingual
singer, musician, lyricist, TV music show judge, artist on tour - how do
you do it all?
Ha ha..I am not sure. By the
grace of God, I have been blessed with these many opportunities. It requires a lot of sacrifice, but more on
the part of my family than myself. I
ultimately really enjoy it all. It’s
fun. The key is to enjoy those moments
to yourself and with your loved ones. I
try to cut myself off and spend time with them as much as I can. They bring me back to earth. When I spend sometime away, it recharges my
batteries.
You've come a
long way in the last few years and people finally acknowledge your talent. How
do you feel about your success so far?
I don’t take what you call “success” or myself very seriously. I don’t believe “the hype”. There is so much more to achieve, so much
more to do. I think that is why I keep
working and why I stay motivated. I
never take for granted that one day all this attention and success could be
gone.
What do you enjoy
most about being a known name now? Do you think your life has changed?
There are many perks to being famous but the most rewarding is being
able to present your art and have people pay attention and enjoy to it. I don’t have to struggle to have people or
the press pay attention. But to be very
honest, being a known name has many burdens, burdens I didn’t realize when I
first entered this business. As soon as
you become a known name, people have expectations and your time becomes
increasingly scarce. I have very little
free time nowadays.
You struggled for
a while before the industry took notice of your unique talents. Have people
changed how they relate to you?
Most of my close friends and colleagues treat me the same. In fact they are proud of me for coming from
nothing and to have achieved the little bit of success that I have. It’s a huge blessing because most artists
they struggle for a long time. I never
take that for granted. I was very lucky
and I owe a lot to many many people who gave me an opportunity… whether in the
film world or ad world or even the recording industry. I am very blessed.
Your band has a
sound that's very unique and immensely likeable. What do you think has made it
so popular?
Thank you for the compliment!
It comes down to the music and the message. It’s very universal,
danceable. The lyrics are positive and sometimes thought
provoking. It incorporates the lyrics
and message that we often found in the poetry our parents would recite to each
other on the dinner table and the music that we hear when we turn on the radio
or watch music television channels.
Tell us about
your latest album.
The latest album is titled “Yatra (Nomadic Souls)” and it is on the
American label Cumbancha Records. It was
recorded and produced alongside my co-producers Paresh Kamath and Naresh
Kamath. They are my creative partners
in this project. It is arranged and
recorded differently with an eye towards my international audiences. There are two or three songs that are brand
new and two more that are completely “unplugged”. All the songs were newly recorded. It is an album that I am very proud of.
Are you a
spiritual person?
I would like to think so. I
find tremendous comfort in my faith. All
my lyrics reference spirituality in some form or another and are in some cases
adapted from the spiritual poetries of famous 13th and 14th century poets like Baba Farid, Amir Khusrao,
Kabir.
You've made Sufi
and that style of music appealing to kids and young people. Has that been a
conscious decision? What about Sufi appeals to you?
It wasn’t intentional. It’s
just who I am and what interests me.
It’s the poetry that I enjoy reading.
That’s what I include in my music.
The fact that Sufism is a system of faith that does not require you to follow one particular set of rules as
set out by different religions – that is what I appreciate. Sufism is about a longing and love for our
God and the journey to come closer to our God.
That love is described in many of our songs. Sometimes is sounds like a love for a woman but similar to the
poetry of many of our favorite 14th Century Indian poets, this love
is actually the love for God. The true
reason to have faith is because of love and thanks of the divine and not
because one fears what will happen if they don’t have faith.
What music do you
listen to in your free time?
Ustad Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan is a big part of my musical playlist but recently, especially because
I have been traveling to North America, I have been listening to new albums
such as those by African artists such as, Habib
Koite and also Baaba Maal I really love their sound because it has
the raw earthy sound that I appreciate the most. My manager in North America gave me a few
albums by this band called 1 Giant Leap
which is also beautiful because they blend music from all over the world.
What's a typical
day like for you?
My days start early, at least for a musician and they are never the
same. Often at 7 or 8 in the
morning. I try to have breakfast with my
wife and family and soon I am off to various appointments or studio sessions –
whether working on a song for Salim & Sulaiman’s latest film or going to
work on an ad. Sometimes if the band
and I are working on a project that recording session will happen in the
evening. But there is a lot of industry
events, or sometimes if we are recording a television show, that will take an
entire weekend of work. In between I am
talking to my managers, in India and in New York
Where do you get
inspiration for your music? What's your creative process like?
I write my lyrics and work on the basic compositions often very odd
hours and the source of my inspiration can come from various places…sometimes
it is a song or lyric my father taught me as a child, sometimes it is a line of
poetry that I am reading in my free time, and sometimes it is based on my day
to day experiences with family and loved ones.
I spend a lot of time outdoors outside of Mumbai. If I had my way I would spend all my time
there. It’s a small simple farm and
being there in fresh air, sunshine, birds, trees reminds me of how small and
insignificant I am and how beautiful the world is. That is my inspiration.
Tell us more about
your band. How did you get together?
The band was formed after a few years of me being in Mumbai in 2000
when I was introduced to Naresh and Paresh Kamath through a very dear mutual
friend and respected composer, Salim Merchant of Salim & Sulaiman. They made the introduction. At that time Naresh and Paresh were in
various rock bands in Mumbai like the one band called “Bombay Black”. So when they met me it was a new experience
for them because they never thought that the traditional folk music could be
modernized. For me it was a new
experience to have rock and funk blend with traditional music. The chemistry was right away and it was
amazing. From there we started working
with musicians all of whom are based in Mumbai and all of whom you will see on
the road with Naresh, Paresh and myself.
Do you ever feel
that your individual success overshadows your band's success?
It does happen. People tend to
focus on the “voice”. It is
natural. Also I work on a lot of film
projects for esteemed composers such as AR Rahman, Salim & Sulaiman and
others so people associate me with everything that has to do with my voice,
forgetting that the Kailasa projects would never happen without Paresh Kamath
and Naresh Kamath. So I try to make it
about “Kailasa” as much as I can. But
everyone focuses on what is on TV and in the films so it becomes very
difficult. Luckily the band is very
understanding and supportive. As much
as is possible, I try to remind promoters, press, everyone – it’s not just
about me. It’s about Kailasa.
Do you see
yourself taking more control of your music - would you consider a full-time
career as a music director/composer?
The Kailasa project is my attempt to take control of my music and work
on music that is solely from my heart.
With Naresh and Paresh, we have started working on a handful of film
projects and yes, I would welcome the opportunity to do more of that kind of
work.
You've moved into
singing in Telugu and other South Indian languages - how did you manage that?
When asked, I rehearse and train in those languages for a particular
song. I am still not very good at it but
I have enough of an understanding to make it happen. I haven’t learned to speak them fluently but
I know just enough to get around. With
time I will hopefully learn more.
I really hope that my friends in Toronto are ready to
DANCE. I had such a good time when were
last here in 2008 and I am looking very forward to coming to Toronto
What new
songs/albums can we expect to hear from you this year?
Right now I am working on supporting the Yatra album on Cumbancha
records and touring/meeting my fans.
There are a number of projects that are about to be released as I have
been called on to sing for many composers.
But I won’t give it away just yet.
You have to stay tuned!
Kailash Kher performs live at Massey Hall on November 12th. The concert is in collaboration with Small World Music.
MT.Kailash is a good place for travel, I hope there will come a day that I can comquer it.
Posted by: Tibet Tour | February 10, 2010 at 10:44 PM