Hill ripples with Three Seas ... BAND BELTS OUT FUSION MUSIC IN DARJEELING, CHRISTMAS EVENING COMES ALIVE

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 26 Dec 2018, Darjeeling: Darjeeling came alive with the sound of music on Christmas in a fusion of jazz, rock, baul and Nepali folk songs.

The baritone -- a low-pitched saxhorn -- blended with Nepali folk instrument machunga to give company to khavak (used by Baul singers). The performance not just underscored the X'mas spirit but also highlighted Darjeeling as a melting pot of cultures.

The Three Seas Music, a band which has Matt Keegan and Steve Elphic from Australia, Cameroon Deylle from New Zealand, Deoashish Mothey from Darjeeling, Raju Das Baul from Shantiniketan and Gaurav Chatterjee of the Lakkhichhara band fame from Calcutta, has made waves in Australia with their "experiment fusion". During this first performance in India -- they have performed in Kochi, Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta, their tempo is only just increasing.

It all started when Keegan visited Shantiniketan in 2009. "I got introduced to these wonderful musicians and we decided to come together," said Keegan.

It was in 2017 that they team first toured Australia and after the initial success revisited in October 2018.

"The response was really good in Australia but we were a bit skeptical of the response in India," said Keegan.

After all they were trying to fuse jazz and rock with folk music of plains and Himalayan region.

They are currently on their first tour to India and the response has been overwhelming.

They have already come up with two albums titled, Haveli and the other is named Fathers, Sons and Brothers.

A song titled haveli sung in Nepali language was recorded in a haveli in Rajasthan with an attempt to capture the spirit of a kite festival.

"We are experimenting inter-cultures and it has been a beautiful journey," said Mothey.

The team now wants to take their music to Europe. "I think this music will have a good audience in Europe. We are also planning a world tour," said Keegan.

For members scattered across oceans and coming from different cultural background, coming together is a challenge. "There is modern technology through which we are constantly in touch," said Mothey.