SHR6E012C~002 CAT23084121 – Intercultural Music: Essay

The Intercultural music project presented an opportunity to engage with a range of traditions. Spending the past few years listening and digesting some of these traditions, in particularly Indian classical music, this module was an opportunity to refine and integrate these practices and incorporate them into my own musical compositions.

One of the hardest aspects to producing music is finding an identity and unique sound. The integration and influence of multiple cultures and genres opened my compositional ability, sparking inspiration and unlocking new creative writing processes. From exploring ragas and understanding their purpose within Indian classical music to the energy and percussive dialogue within African music, researching a range of different music inspired my compositional writing and most importantly, helped to lift a creative block I was experiencing with my own music at the time. My aim was not to replicate these compositions exactly but rather integrate them into my own practice.

This essay documents and evaluates my learning process throughout the project. I will also evidence how each influence was researched and applied to my performance. I will evaluate the quality, application and integration of each element used in my performance. Going forwards, this reflection will help me distinguish what worked well within my piece and what I would change to develop future work and projects.

Indian Classical Music — Raga and the Alap

I first directed my research towards Indian classical music. This was the first module we were introduced to as a class, and it was a genre I had grown up listening to. Ravi Shankar’s album ‘Chants of India’ played a huge role in the creation of my composition. Recorded in 1997, the compositions centre on hypnotic devotional chants featuring traditional Indian instrumentation including: sitar, bansuri and ethereal harp (Steven, 2022). This album was a collaboration between Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. As a result of this collaboration, the album wasn’t labelled as a traditional piece of Indian classical music as it blended ancient scriptures with more modern music arrangements. Shankar draws upon the sacred Sanskrit texts of the Vedas, Upanishads and other scriptures (Harisongs.com, 2026) and placed them amongst Indian and European instrumentation. These are ancient scriptures that include mantras, which are ‘sacred utterances considered to possess mystical or religious efficacy’ (Preston, 2026). What fascinates me most about this collaboration was George Harrisons restraint from fusing western music with Indian classical music. Instead, Harrison wanted Indian music to become more accessible around the word. ‘You have the integrity of the chants but presented in a way where the average person who is not familiar with them will hear them as a musical thing’ (George Harrison, 2018). Harrison’s production style fully for filled the instrumentation and compositions on the album, letting the mantras and instrumentation speak for themselves. In my composition I wanted to take this approach, taking a raga but incorporating my electronic production influence.

The first track ‘Vandanaa Trayee’ inspired the introduction of my track. I was inspired by the ‘Alap’, a traditional introduction section of composition meaning ‘to sing or express repeatedly’ (Kulkarni, 2025). Predominantly used in Hindustani classical music and Carnatic classical music, the Alap is free flowing without rhythm and is used to express the raag and build the composition. In this reference track the tanpura begins by playing a drone. The drone is a sustained note or cluster of notes played throughout the track acting as a tonal anchor. Traditionally the root note of the raga is used, also known as the ‘Sa’ and can be combined with the fifth which is called ‘Pa’.

I decided to start my piece with a drone. Instead of using traditional drone instruments like the Tanpura or the Shruti box, I decided to incorporate my electronic influence by using the Korg Minilogue Synthesiser. I was able to shape the sound by adjusting multiple parameters. First, I used a square wave, this wave shape has a hollow sound similar to the tanpura, this is because the wave contains odd harmonics giving the sound harsh characteristics. Next, I alter the cutoff parameter on the synth. This rolls off the higher frequencies to reduce harshness and add warmth. The resonance control was a great way to add acoustic qualities to the synth sound. Mirroring the resonating effects heard from the tanpura, traditionally the frequencies generated by other instruments resonate with the tanpura automatically due to do its proximity within a room.

I took inspiration from Brian Eno’s album ‘Ambient 1: Music for Airports’. Brian uses tape looping to create an ambient soundscape. He uses effects like delay and physical distance between the two tape machines to alter the sound of his sampled soundscapes. (Reverb Machine, 2019)

To generate a consistent drone, I play the Sa and Pa on my synth (C and G) and looped it using the Roland RC – 505 loop station. By gradually bringing up the instrument level of the drone whilst looping, I was able to create a seamless loop which could be played continuously. Using a looper allowed me to layer my composition, adding texture and dynamics as I could control each track dynamic. I was able to record over the top of the original drone to increase the richness and texture of the drone throughout the composition.

Similar process can be heard in Nitin Sawhney’s album ‘Beyond Skin’. In the song ‘Nadia’, the low electronic drone is threaded throughout the track. With limited instrumentation, the drone adds atmosphere and timbre and changes in intensity through the song, this is done by tonal shaping and reduced dynamics. A great example of traditional Indian elements being incorporated into electronic performances.

The looping aspect of the performance was heavily influenced by Fred Again’s live NPR Tiny Desk set. In this performance, Fred Again constructs his music live Infront of an audience using a loop station, layering vocal samples, live recorded acoustic instruments, and rhythmic elements in real time to build a track from silence into a fully textured piece. I was drawn to his live processing of audio throughout the performance. He first loops himself playing broken chords on the marimba, after looping this section he transforms the sound into an ethereal pad which acts as a drone. He does this by reversing the loop and stretching it slightly before adding reverb to create a more consistent sound. If I was to approach the beginning loop again for my performance I would have assigned a midi controller with additional effects. I was able to add just one effect at a time, so I used reverb which helped smooth the loop. If I had an additional controller, I could assign effects like delay and chorus to each knob, this would help give more variation to the drone and could increase the intensity as the piece developed.

Alap Introduction

After the drone is set, I begin the Alap. The unmetered, freely improvised introduction used in Indian classical music foreshadowed the character of the raga before any rhythm was introduced (sangtapriya, 2024). The raga I chose was Raga Bhairavi, one of the most emotionally expressive ragas in the Hindustani tradition. This raga is characterised by flattened second, third, sixth and seventh degrees, giving it a deeply melancholic, tender quality that is often described as evoking longing or farewell (tanarang, 2023). The Bhairavi raga is ‘free chromatic’, this allows the use of swara sequences from outside the notes of the raga to be played. Also known as ‘Mishra’ meaning mixed (—Rāga Junglism—, 2024). This raga is known for its versatility as it uses all 12 ‘swaras’, the octave of notes which are the foundation of Indian classical music (P. Parrikar, 2002).

For alap inspiration I listening to recordings of North Indian classical performances, more specifically, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Ustad Shujaat Khan Bhairavi Alap (Raju Asokan, 2017). The intensity of phrasing and frequency of playing naturally grew creating a sense of development. 2:14 minutes into the performance Vilayat plays a meend section which is phased as a question for Shujaat to answer with a developed answer. This was something I spent time practicing for my alap, I found it challenging knowing then to play and how to build the alap at first. Spending time practicing the raga helped my phrasing of this section and react to what was being played.

Rather than performing the Alap alone, I collaborated with pianist Sam Lynn, who played electric piano. This introduced a call and response section. Exchanging phrases in a call-and-response relationship meant we could introduce a melodic idea drawn from the Bhairavi scale, and the other would answer it by extending, contrasting, or reflecting it back. This was done as an improvisation as we could capture the present emotion felt at that specific time and react to each other’s playing. This section is highly emotional and expressive in traditional Indian music, to increase my expression in the alap I use the pitch bending feature on my synth which is inspired by the traditional movement from one note to another, known as ‘meend’. This is a glide from one note to another, creating movement and expression between phrases and notes (raag-hindustani.com, n.d.). I combine this technique with added control from the delay, inbuilt on my synth. Taking inspiration from Fred Again’s live electronic set, I can control the feedback and amount of reverb sent to the synth sound. This created ambience and increased note lengths which would transition into Sams improvised phrasing through manual automation. This increased expression created a smooth transition between the musical conversation. Combined with the manipulation of the cut off knob gives my phrases a distinct synthesiser ‘wobble’ sound which is an important identity to my overall sound.

For my performance, I believe we successfully captured the mood of the Bhairavi raga. Our call and response felt restraint yet responsive and gradually increased in intensity and texture through added delay effects, tempo and phrasing lengths. The alap section was approximately a minute in length due to the time restrains we had on the performance. I believe this section could have been explored further with increased variation and buildup, with the time restraints I didn’t leave much space in between phrases, this would have emphasised the emotion of each phrase further.

Afro-Cuban Influence

After the Alap section, I add the rhythm into my performance marking a major shift within the piece. Going from unmetered, free tempo to a set rhythm is a reference to traditional Indian performance as the alap is followed by the rhythmic Gat, also know as the fixed instrumental melody (digitabla.com, n.d.). The tabla is usually the percussive instrument that enters here but I decided to take inspiration from Afro-Cuban traditions combined with further Fred Again inspiration.

Using my looping station, I built the percussive texture entirely live. I began with the clave pattern which was a 3:2 son clave, in which three hits fall in the first bar and two in the second, creating a rhythmic cycle that is not symmetrical. In Afro-Cuban music, the clave acts as the structural spine and foundation to most pieces. When it came to looping these rhythms, I did this by preparing my loop station beforehand. It was important that all the loops were sync’d to each other. I set each loop to two bars which meant that I could trigger the start of the loop and it would automatically end without me having to manually press the trigger again. To ensure I was in time with the loop, I took the output metronome into a pair of in-ear monitors (WORLD DRUM CLUB, 2021). Over this I layered a shaker, adding a continuous sixteenth-note subdivision, this filled space between the clave strokes and gave the groove momentum.

I use a Dholki drums and play on the first and second beat of the bar. This drum is heard across India and is unique for its deep bass one side and higher treble the other (Keda Music Ltd, 2017a). Hitting on the first two beats of the bar gave me a strong downbeat anchor which was syncopated against the 3:2 clave. The integration of multiple polyrhythms was inspired by west African influences. Watching a traditional Ewe War Dance performance (Viewcy, 2025) enabled me to take inspiration towards layered rhythms and high energy percussion parts. Firstly, I noticed the density of the polyrhythms as each drum was playing something different. The bell layer acts as the anchor for the overall piece and enabled me to reference where I was in the beat. Taking inspiration from this, I use the clave as the key anchor layer in my percussion layering and building around that.

Call and response was a large aspect of this performance as the lead drummer plays a phrase and the ensemble reacts by playing it back. This also impacts the dancer’s movements and singing. The dialogue from this inspired my alap phrasing as well as the relationship between the rhythm section as I saw the vocabulary as a question that then needed to be followed with an answer. Having this approach enabled me to express more emotion within my piece and build a stronger theme throughout. To create variation within the rhythm section, I was able to drop each layer in and out through the faders on my loop station. If I was to approach this section again, I would have explored polyrhythms further. Expanding my loop time to allow for increased variation would have increased the overall texture and therefore energy of this section. The limitations of the loop station within a solo performance was the ability to develop percussion layers. To best evolve the percussion part, I used live processing to create variation. On the looper, post processing can be applied after recording the loops. Knowing this, I prepare the looper with the beat repeater function. This takes all the tracks and creates smaller loops within the main loop. I applied this in the verse section which build anticipation before returning to the original groove in the chorus.

Call and Response

I wanted to further demonstrate call and response within my piece. When researching this it’s clear to see its integration through multiple genres. From listening to the exchanges within a jazz solo between a saxophone and the drummer, to west African drumming exchanging between the lead and the ensemble and often dancers, the exchange from call and response is so significant within music due to its conversation like interaction and communication feel. By structuring a lot of my sections around call and response, this gave me the opportunities to explore different cultures and their practice. In the bridge section I compose a section of antecedent consequent phrasing which is commonly heard in Jazz. This is a variation of call and response, but the end phrase sounds interrupted and unfinished (mramusicplace, 2016).

My own practice

When integrating these genres into my own practice one of the most inspiring pieces of music to me was Gorillaz album ‘The Mountain’ (2026). Released at a similar time I was composing my composition, the album heavily draws from Indian classical instrumentation and incorporates electronic production and synthesis. This album was a great reference for my track as my aim was to combine synthesis with Indian instrumentation and structure. The first track drew my attention, using traditional instrumentation and collaborating with Ajay Prasanna who plays the bansuri flute, the track focuses on the development of a single melody. The cyclic element to this composition drew my attention and I was amazed at how I was engaged throughout the track. A combination of varied expression and slight variations to the melody unfolded as the track progressed. This created gradual development that felt restraint and progressive. In my track I took inspiration from this development and played my melody in sections throughout my alap on the synth. I was able to develop this by changing the release time and cut off on the synth so each time I played the melody it was varied. Later I move to a sitar sound to play the melody. Here I was able to vary the central melody whilst sticking to the Bhairavi raga. I believe this could have been explored more and I could have transitioned the melody to a new raga. In the introduction the root is based around Bhairavi raga in C, then in the main body of composition the root changes to F but the melody stays the same. I believe this works well with changing chords underneath the melody however introducing a developed melody based around Bhairavi raga in F would have helped give variation and development.

Timeline

Conclusion

This project clearly demonstrated my integration of musical cultures and influences within my own practice. Basing my performance around the Bhairavi raga challenged me to create melodies and phrases within a new set of rules, forcing me to explore Indian classical music further. This helped develop my alap introduction section where the focus was set on emotional language and phrasing. I found that the alap was the biggest challenge to this performance, giving space between phrases and improvising with another musician forced me out my comport zone. Developing this took place over the course of the project, from learning the raga to developing my expression in a traditional style. I integrated my own practice into this by playing it on the synth, fusing my electronic production influence with traditional Indian classical music. I found success in expressing emotion through the synthesiser as I was able to manipulate aspects of the sound including the length of the note, cut off frequencies and pitch bending. These are all aspects considered in traditional Indian classical music, especially on the sitar. I would develop this piece by incorporating vocal samples and live instrumental loops within the performance. Inspired by the looping and processing of the marimba in Fred Agains Tiny Desk performance, added instrumentation would layer my performance further and enable me to build my composition in texture and variation.

Bibliography

—Rāga Junglism—. (2024). Bhairavi | SrgmPdnS | Hindustani Raga Index | 365+ Ragas. [online] Available at: https://ragajunglism.org/ragas/bhairavi/.
digitabla.com. (n.d.). Gat | DigiTabla.com. [online] Available at: https://digitabla.com/reference/compositional-forms/gat/.
George Harrison (2018). HariSongs – Short Documentary on ‘Chants of India’. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR6EKOmXA9M [Accessed 9 May 2026].
Harisongs.com. (2026). HariSongs : Chants of India. [online] Available at: https://harisongs.com/discography/ChantsOfIndia.php [Accessed 9 May 2026].
Keda Music Ltd (2017a). WHAT IS A DHOLAK (DHOLKI) DRUM? Demystifying Indian Music #13. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ-X0hrKbew [Accessed 11 May 2026].
Keda Music Ltd (2017b). WHAT IS A DRONE? Demystifying Indian Music #7. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AarJ9a3zVeU [Accessed 24 Feb. 2023].
Kulkarni, T. (2025). Alap: The Soulful Beginning of Every Raag In Music | Artium Academy. [online] Artium Academy. Available at: https://artiumacademy.com/blogs/demystifying-alap-the-soulful-beginning-of-every-raag-in-music/.
Learn Jazz Standards – The Ultimate Jazz Musician Resource. (2025). What Is Clave in Jazz Music? Supercharge Your Rhythm Chops! [online] Available at: https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/what-is-clave-rhythm/.
mramusicplace (2016). What are Antecedent & Consequent Phrases in Music? [online] mister a music place. Available at: https://mramusicplace.net/2016/02/26/what-are-antecedent-consequent-phrases-in-music/.
NPR Music (2023). Fred again..: Tiny Desk Concert. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iQmPv_dTI0&list=RD4iQmPv_dTI0 [Accessed 9 Dec. 2025].
P. Parrikar, R. (2002). Bhairavi (Part 1/2). [online] Rajan Parrikar Music Archive. Available at: https://www.parrikar.org/hindustani/bhairavi/.
Preston, C. (2026). Mantra | Buddhism and Hinduism. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/mantra.
raag-hindustani.com. (n.d.). Ornamentation in Indian Classical Music – Raag Hindustani. [online] Available at: https://raag-hindustani.com/Embellishment.html.
Raju Asokan (2017). Ustad Vilayat Khan & Ustad Shujaat Khan- Bhairavi. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRVGUBYIiRU [Accessed 10 May 2026].
Reverb Machine (2019). Deconstructing Brian Eno’s ‘Music For Airports’. [online] Reverb Machine. Available at: https://reverbmachine.com/blog/deconstructing-brian-eno-music-for-airports/.
sangtapriya (2024). Starting with Silence: The Magic of Alap, Jod, and Jhala – Sangeetapriya. [online] Sangeetapriya. Available at: https://sangeetapriya.com/article-9/.
Steven (2022). Chants of India, A Pinnacle of Ravi Shankar’s and George Harrison’s Friendship – Steven M. Leuthold. [online] Steven M. Leuthold – Steven M. Leuthold. Available at: https://stevenmleuthold.com/%EF%BF%BCchants-of-india-a-musical-pinnacle-of-a-lifelong-friendship/ [Accessed 9 May 2026].
tanarang. (2023). Raag Bhairavi – Raag Details & Bandishen – Tanarang Music. [online] Available at: https://tanarang.com/raag-bhairavi/.
Viewcy (2025). Amenuveve Cultural Troupe Performing Agbekor | Traditional Ewe War Dance. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB-DEe93maQ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2025].
Washburne, C. (1997). The Clave of Jazz: A Caribbean Contribution to the Rhythmic Foundation of an AfricanAmerican Music. Black Music Research Journal, [online] 17(1), pp.59–80. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/779360.
WORLD DRUM CLUB (2021). RC505 Loop Station – Setting Different Loop Lengths. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imot0Dd5TZk [Accessed 10 May 2026].