Anthony Curmi's musical career has changed considerably ever since he decided to go the music he loved listening to when he was young. A precocious and energetic guitarist with hard rock band Blade and A Day Too Late, he also had the honour to have interviewed Iron Maiden's Steve Harris back in 1985 when the bass player was holidaying in Malta.   Lately he has been making inroads in sitar playing, deeply studying the instrument and performing in Cushion, a fusion band that has been around for the past five years.    In this exclusive interview, he further reveals his love for the sitar as well as the technicalities and art of mastering this noble instrument.

 

What led you to learn and delve into sitar playing after so many years as a rock music performer?

Though my roots were in rock music, I was always intrigued by the sitar. After my stints with Blade and a Day Too Late, I decided to go to chill-out music, played the didgeridoo for a while and also tried my hand at percussion however, I was determined to play the sitar, though I knew I would have had to dedicate a lot of time.   I fell in love with the sitar, when as a little kid I used to watch Sandokan, a TV series on RAI. The sitar-oriented music stuck in my mind.

 

You work in a music shop. Would you have an idea of how many sitar players are there right now?

I know of seven people, five of whom are taking sitar playing seriously, the other two are playing it on and off.  Our sitar learning resources are limited. This is a traditional Indian instrument, rooted in Hindu spirituality and culture, and steeped in history.  Despite our limitations, those who have studied have shown remarkable handling and knowledge, mainly through research via internet, viewing DVD tutorials, reading biographies, and of course, listening to as much relevant music as possible.

 

The sitar is a complex instrument. How can one go around performing and creating music with this instrument?

The sitar is indeed complex. It is big, fragile, has multi-chords, and relatively big tuning pegs. It takes at least one year for one to become acquainted to handling this instrument with the hope of creating the right melodic balance. Even tuning the sitar is a real unique art in itself and it can provide a lot of strange things too! At the same time, the more one becomes acquainted with this instrument, the more one can develop the melodic music associated with this instrument.  One simply ends up building a relationship, and when playing the pure note, he/she would embellish it in elliptical not straight lines. Usually in folk guitar playing, a guitarist will bend up to two tones, whereas in sitar playing, a good player will know how to play and bend up to five tones. One of the biggest secrets of the sitar is that one has to acquaint himself with this instrument, and it will then end up guiding him.

What scopes for improvisation does the sitar offer?

There are two approaches namely the purist Indian classical style or the westernised, fusion-oriented style. In each framework, one must know the territory he is charting. He must also develop a personal feel, and  a sound sitar framework based on  one key.  One must become master of this key. The sitar mainly utilises the c, c sharp or d keys . The c sharp being the most traditional whereas d is the modern key.    The  sitar has three octaves- low,  middle and high. It is this fundamental knowledge of these keys that will help the sitar player develop the raga, those long meditative melodies which have such a unique pattern and feel! There are different ragas for different times of the day, different moods, seasons, and years.  There is indeed a whole world to explore through sitar playing.  

 

What about your work with Cushion? How much of a learning experience has it been?

It has been a very good, ongoing learning experience.  There is so much to learn from the sitar and the way one can use it to interact with other instruments.  A lot of people end up asking us about our music and the instruments we play, whenever we perform and that also shows a rise in interest in such seemingly esoteric music.

 

India has a great mystical music tradition. Ashwin Batish has also helped to make it more appealing. What are your viewpoints here?

 One must also not forget other Indian instruments, with which the sitar interacts beautifully. One fine example is the tabla, a percussive instrument that can really provide awe and intrigue. Over and above, however, Indian music relies heavily on the aural tradition. Though most documentation of Indian music will feature the tabla and the sitar, the vocal tradition remains second to none. Singing is nurtured in children; they grow up singing and  as a result , any instrument must imitate the voice. The human voice can warp and jump from one octave to another. Here thus lies the skill of transforming vocal techniques to instrumental techniques. One must also appreciate that in Indian music, there can be lots of bent notes which are difficult to annotate.  Hence the emphasis on one to one tutorial groups, under the guidance of experienced gurus.

 

Is there any sitar-laden composition you really like?

Undoubtedly The Beatles' 'Within You Without You'. This song shows how much of an influence Ravi Shankar was on The Beatles, particularly on George Harrison. However, I also like Led Zeppelin's Kashmir even though the song features open tuned guitars, rather than the sitar.