Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012

Debashish Bhattacharya: Madeira- If Music Can Intoxicate

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Debashish Bhattacharya (slide guitar), Subhasis Bhattacharya (tabla), and Anandi Bhattacharya (tamboura vocals) Debashish Bhattacharya is perhaps the greatest slide guitarist in India. By designing new instruments, and through his incredible talent and discipline, he has elevated the Indian slide guitar to be the highest evolution of slide guitar anywhere in the world. Though he has been compared to V. M. Bhatt, Bhattacharya creates music that has far greater musical range, physical dexterity, and emotional depth. To develop his playing, he has undergone decades of disciplined study of Indian vocal technique combined with his instrumental work. Bhattacharya can sing perfectly in parallel with every blindingly fast melody he plays. Playing instruments of his own design—slide guitars with strings ranging from 4 to 21—his lightning-fast speed and spectacular interaction with the tabla and vocals produce spellbinding music.