Adding fusion to the mix

Why are so many musicians suddenly wary of calling their work fusion? Done right, the genre drives change, keeps sounds evolving. But what's right? Hear from the artists

- Karishma uenzang

Mic drop. Fusion music is no longer cool. Mention the term at a jam session, and instrumentalists will roll their eyes. Gig organisers think twice before putting it on promotional posters and Reels. Musicians don't include the term in their repertoire. Listeners are not searching for fusion in their music apps.

"Fusion always had a bad reputation," says Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, 25, a sitarist, music producer and composer based in New York. "If someone said they were doing a fusion concert or album, they were immediately looked down upon by Hindustani classical purists." Sharma speaks from experience. He grew up in Delhi, picked up the sitar at age 10, and learnt from Pandit Ravi Shankar. He's from the fourth generation of Indian classical-instrument makers who created the first electronic sitar and who operate Rikhi Ram's Music in Delhi. Sharma shot to fame during his Sitar for Mental Health live sessions in 2020. Hate for fusion music wells up largely when it's not done right, he finds. "Knowing nothing about an unfamiliar genre, but combining it with one you know, for the sake of it, doesn't give birth to mind-blowing music."

The new wave of disdain stems largely from how easy it now is to sample music from different cultures online and use software to force-fit two or more unfamiliar genres. "When it is too easily accessible, you lose interest in what could be a beautiful journey," says Kolkata guitarist Rohan Ganguli, 43, who gained recognition in 2001 as part of the band Cognac and now plays with his eponymous quartet. He started off by playing the blues, got into rock and roll, studied jazz and now plays a fusion of Blues, Indian classical and jazz.