IN STEP WITH THE WORLD
Tuesday, 27 October 2015 | Devi Singh
Yossi Fine, one of the world’s foremost bassist performers, has teamed up with the Manganiyar community to deliver world music at the Jodhpur RIFF 2015. Devi Singh reports
It was at the age of four when he first touched the guitar strings and got hooked. The Grammy award winner, Yosi Fine, made his Indian debut on day three of the Jodhpur RIFF 2015 in collaboration with Rajasthani Manganiyar musicians.
Known for his traditional African percussions with deep bass lines, Fine is a name to reckon with in the reggae and the world music. With heavy influences of African music, he grew up to love rock and funk.
He entered into the realm of bass playing at the age of 16 out of a need which eventually turned into a passion. “There were only two guitar players in the band I was a part of and we couldn’t find a bass player. It was already show time so I borrowed the bass and from that day I became a bass player,” Fine recalled.
His musical journey began 30 years ago in New York where he joined a band and got introduced to many funk and jazz musicians. “For 10 years I had a good run of playing with a lot of different musicians across different genres including funk, rock, hip hop and jazz.”
After moving back to Israel, he started his own project which was collaborating with African musicians mainly from Ghana but included other parts of Africa too. “I started sampling the recordings with funk, hip hop beats and different bass lines and that is how I started collaborating with folk musicians even though I never met most of them,” added Fine.
Fine is the front man of the band, Ex-centric, which is an African project, “Usually people will go for Indian music in order to do a mix of electronic and the world music. After playing for 10 years in New York with African musicians, I realised not many in their community knew about their continent. I started discovering the different styles. I wanted to know about the roots of ‘black music’ in America. I wanted to know where the blues, jazz and funk came from.”
In a strange scheme of events, he discovered his much oblivious Indian connection. It was only two-years ago that he realised he has Indian roots. “I watched the interview of my parents talking about their roots from where I found out my great grandfather was from India and a year later, I got a call from the organisers to come and perform at the RIFF.”
On his collaboration with the Manganiyars, he said, “When I heard the rehearsal recording, I thought I should make it sound different and thought about which chord or movement would bring out a different nuance. I thought may be it would sound a little different to the Indian ear but if I’ll keep repeating it enough times, they’ll get used to it.”
Fine has practiced only three days before the main performance. “I didn’t know who all are in the band, what do they play, and what instruments are involved. But eventually it doesn’t matter who I’m collaborating with. The best way to have an amazing performance is to make them sound good,” he said.
The artiste says it’s important to find a commonality in the world music to cater to different tastes. “I always try to find the common thing between different world beats and the Rajasthani beats are very similar to funk and reggae. There are certain beats around that has universal appeal.”
After the performance at RIFF with the Manganiyars, he seems to have intent of a future project soon. “I’m thinking of coming up with something. Before the performance I was a bit clueless but now I definitely have a reason to come back to India. Before I set my foot in the country, I was told you will not get India when you are there, you’ll get it once you’re out of it,” he signs off.