Global ISAI is a festival is going to present, funk, pop rock, fusion, hip hop, folk, blues, jazz - different genres, various styles. An artiste and composer, Thierry Pecou from France music composer of the band Samghata, expresses his feelings regarding the ensuing festival, an effort by Alliance Française of Madras.”
The artiste born and brought up in Paris had some influence from Martinique culture, a land of mixed cultures where many Indian people were brought to work in the plantations at the end of the 19th century. His family members made him listen to a lot of 20th Century music such as Ravel, Stravinsky, Debussy, Messiaen. At the age of nine years, his parents gifted a piano and asked me if he would have been interested to have piano lessons. And that’is how he started his journey. “I am coming here after a year. The first time I came I had a cultural shock. However, this time I am very familiar with the Indian Culture,” her adds while expressing his keenness of performing second time in India.
You have travelled extensively, how much has that influenced your music style? What is the best thing about travelling according to you?
While I was studying composition at the Paris Conservatory, I was not happy with what the masters would tell me. I felt they had a vision of music which too much euro-centered, considering that the genre of music history was only European and that music should go on following a line which should lead to completely new and never heard music. I thought it was not reflecting the reality ofour time, which is the possibility for different cultures to be in contact in a very easy way and that western music history couldn’t move on without being enriched by all the other traditions in the world. Having this in mind, as soon as I got my diplomas at the Paris Conservatory, I started to travel to have new experiences around the world, especially in Central and South America. My very first shock was in Cuba when I experienced the oral transmission of rhythms in a ceremony of Santeria (an afro cuban ritual). An old man was telling a young man while he was playing the drums how he should play. I thought that this too was a great knowledge all memorised, even if it was different than what we learn in a western conservatory.
You formed Ensemble Variances back in 2010, how have the last eight years been for you, as a group of like-minded musicians?
To be a composer is a very territory activity. But I have always felt that as a musician I need to meet other people and work with other musicians. Only then I can create a masterpiece. The members of the Ensemble have been the same since its inception. Initially we took a lot of time to know each other and now after 8 years we feel like a group. We complement each other and we really have very strong momentum of music when we are together. We had trouble performing in different countries initially.. Our performance in Indian is a very new experience for ourselves. It is very enriching. And for our performance at Phoenix MarketCity we have only two members from the Enembe group as it was impossible to bring the entire group to perform here. We have the key members with us to perform in India.
This is your second time in India and this time also you are planning to do something different with your music, tell us a bit more about it?
Yes. The first time I came to perform for a French music festival and choose music that was inspired by Tibetian Music, to speak to people of India. This time it is different, the idea was to meet Indian musician and to create new music with them. We are trying to make an exchange with our cultures. We will be combining two different musical traditions.
While bringing together Indian and Western musicians together, does it also include both Hindustani and Carnatic? And in Western are we talking about classical music as well?
The Tabla and flute are from the Hindustani music and the violin is from the Carnatic music . We have got few elements of both music styles. In western, I use Hindustani Raaga, so that Indian musicians can understand the music I write.
QHow challenging was it for you to bring these diverse genres of music together?
I have admired Indian music and musicians. But there are a lot of things that are difficult to understand. When I was in France I read a lot of books to understand Indian Music better and that was very useful to me. But I was not sure if things I learnt through books were what was being practised in India. But after today’s rehearsals I am quite sure that what I had read was similar to what I am experiencing here.
Did you find similarities between the two, in terms of the structure, tune or notes? Also, what were the prominent differences you found?
There are some similarities. Like what Indian musicians call ‘Raaga’ is what we call it as ‘Scales’ or ‘Notes’. This is something we can observe in both tradition. However, the notes we use in western system are different. We use the Tonal system (Harmonic system) which is not followed here. As a contemporary music composer I do not really use that either. For me to use the Raaga scale is easier and I find it very interesting. The difference is that we use Polyphony and Harmony but these are not used in Indian Music. In western we use a lot of range of dynamics. In Indian music this not very important.
What do you think about the music community / the music loving community in India and specifically in Chennai?
Indian audience is very curious. After our last concert, people came and asked about the music. They are dedicated listeners. I expect the same this time.
Music has evolved so much over the years, and there are so many genres of music as well today. And today there is so much of fusion of music happening, do you think to some extent the authenticity of the genre tends to get lost in this process? Or how do you maintain that whilst fusing them?
It is a very important question. We live in a world where a lot of cultural exchange happens. We give and take traditional styles of music. We are exposed to global music and one gets to get lost in it. I personally feel that people should learn the core of their traditional music first and later could explore other types of music. It is very necessary to learn one’s tradition in the most rigorous way.
Can you also tell us a bit about other projects that you are currently working on?
I am working currently on an opera with singers and musicians, which will be staged soon. This project will be in my usual style along with certain Indian musical structure. It will be a perpetual dialect of what they do and what I am doing. This will have a mix of two different cultures.
