Shuruaat, the Boston-based multi-cultural collective’s debut album, tracks its decade-long journey across genres
Shuruaat, the Boston-based multi-cultural collective’s debut album, tracks its decade-long journey across genres
“Are you jet-lagged?” asks Annette Philip. “Not at all. How can I be when I am in this musically charged environment,” replies Shreya Ghoshal. “Actually I see myself in these youngsters and wish I had the opportunity to be at such a place. It’s so much fun and an open and inclusive space to learn music. You are all blessed,” she smiles, looking at the students attending the residency that she conducted at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2017.
The singer is now part of the Berklee Indian Ensemble’s debut album Shuruaat, which marks the music collective’s first decade together. ‘Sundari Pennae’, one of the tracks in the album, was originally sung by Shreya for composer D. Imman for the Tamil film Oru Oorla Rendu Raja. Presented in a grunge-inspired version, the song, recorded during her residency, fuses progressive rock, konnakol and jazz over intricate Indian classical rhythms. “Till date, it is the most collaboratively re-arranged cover that the ensemble has produced,” says Annette, the first Indian musician to be appointed as a faculty at Berklee, and the founder of the ensemble.
Singer Shreya Ghoshal performing during her residency
| Photo Credit: Courtesy: BIE
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What started out as a class in 2011 is today among the well-known global acts to emerge from Boston that organically transitioned into a 11-member professional band in 2021. It hosts productions, headlines international music festivals, and creates YouTube content. Their success on YouTube can be traced to their interpretation of A.R. Rahman’s ‘Jiya Jale’ (from Dil Se). The ensemble’s version became viral, garnering over 50 million views. It led to a sold-out concert of new arrangements of Rahman’s music, featuring 109 Berklee musicians onstage at Boston Symphony Hall. This also paved the way for the ensemble to work with some of the biggest names in South Asian music.
Known for its distinct style, the ensemble honours Indian music traditions even while experimenting with genres and art forms from across the globe. “I was inspired to share Indian culture with Berklee (and beyond) and envisioned a performance collective that explored Indian music in all its forms. A space that allowed for cultural influences from all over the world. Over the last decade, we have had more than 450 musicians from 52 countries be part of this family. An entire institute, Berklee India Exchange, was born in 2014 out of this momentum that also focuses on artiste residencies, scholarships, workshops, teacher training modules, and community service,” says Annette.
Shuruaat, a 10-track compilation, features 98 musicians from 39 countries, and highlights the best of Indian artistry, including Ustad Zakir Hussain, composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan and singer Vijay Prakash, besides Shreya. The tracks carry the ensemble’s diverse musical influences such as jazz, progressive rock, Indian classical, sufi and Middle Eastern flavours.
In addition to Indian musicians and alumni and students of Berklee College of Music, Shuruaat boasts collaborations with contemporary-classical duo, Shadow and Light, and features two Shakti tributes, as well as four original compositions.
“When I founded the Berklee Indian Ensemble, I wanted to make sure young musicians feel safe to bring in their own cultural flavours to our music. I chose collaboration, innovation, kindness, and a sense of adventure to be our guiding principles. Students learn how to create a full show, are exposed to composition and arranging techniques, and, of course, discover new aspects about their artistry,” says Annette.
New projects
BIE founder Annette Philip
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Many members after graduating from Berklee have continued performing with the ensemble while also pursuing several new projects of their own. For instance, the alumni include touring musicians, engineers, composers, arrangers, music supervisors, environmentalists, DJs, music therapists, actors, and influencers.
“Some have joined Berklee as educators, or staff members of Berklee India Exchange. The sky is the limit to what a creative person can be and do,” says Annette. Though most of the ensemble’s covers have become viral, many of the members have also composed originals that have been performed and recorded.
“We’ve had about 22 originals so far and Shuruaat features four — two in Urdu (‘Pinha’ by Dhruv Goel, and ‘Arz-e-Niyaz’ by Sashank Navaladi), one in Bengali (‘Jaago piya’ by Armeen Musa), and one using scat syllables (‘Aakash’ by Sharon Renold).”
Annette plans to submit Shuruaat for the Grammys. The ensemble plans to visit India by the end of this year. “A stadium show is part of our wish list and preliminary conversations are on. Of course, we hope our music finds sync licensing opportunities on popular streaming platforms and other avenues to spread joy and expose global audiences to myriad musical styles.”
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A full-time professional touring band, the Berklee Indian Ensemble’s 11 members came together organically through the years.
Harshitha Krishnan – (Nigeria/India) – vocals
Rohith Jayaraman (USA) – vocals/percussion
Annette Philip (India) – piano/vocals
Shai Portugaly (Israel) – keys/vocals
Layth Sidiq (Jordan / Iraq) – violin
Aleif Hamdan – (Malaysia/Indonesia) – guitar
Yoel Genin (Israel) – guitar and buzouki
Guy Bernfeld (Israel) – bass
Giri Subramaniam (India) – tabla / percussion
Thomas Debelian (Brazil / Norway / Armenia) – percussion
lYogev Gabay (Israel) – drumset / percussion
