Hey Everyone , I Just had one of the coolest studio session ever! Spent the day recording with a family of Baul musicians from north east - India .
Bauls are these awesome wandering folk singers from Bengal. Think of them as India's OG hippies, but with a musical tradition going back centuries. They're not just musicians, but spiritual poets who sing about love, freedom, and finding the divine in everyday life.
So there I was, in the studio with this Baul family, hitting record on one of their songs. The vibe was unreal! Their music is this wild cocktail of folk tunes mixed with Sufi, Bhakti, and Tantric flavors. It's raw, soulful, and hits you right in the feels.
What blew my mind was their instruments. There's the ektara, this funky one-stringed thing that sounds way cooler than it should. And the duggi? It's like a tiny drum that packs a serious punch.
(This Instrument in frame is called the ektara Its a one-stringed musical instrument used in the traditional music of the Indian subcontinent, and used in modern-day music of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Two-stringed versions are called dotara, a name which also applies to other instruments. )
Watching this family jam together was something else. For them, music isn't just a hobby or job – it's their whole life. They pass these songs down through generations like precious family secrets. We're talking grandpa on the ektara, mom and dad trading verses, and the kids jumping in with percussion. The little one couldn't have been more than seven, but man, could he keep a beat on that duggi (it's like a tiny hand drum)!
Recording them was tricky. Baul music has this live energy that's hard to capture in a studio. We had to get creative – set them up in a circle, just like they'd perform at a village gathering. Lots of room mics to catch that natural sound. It took a few takes . But man, we gave it our best shot, and the result was pure magic.
Here is the Video of the Beautiful Session We had at the Studio .!!
As we wrapped up the session, I couldn't help but feel like I'd been part of something bigger than just recording a song. It was like we'd tapped into this long, unbroken chain of musical tradition, stretching back hundreds of years.
Thanks for Stopping By