Rocking the ragas: Raghu Dixit

How was The Raghu Dixit Project conceived?

The Raghu Dixit Project started in 2006 after my former band Antaragni split in 2005. This time I was very sure that I didn’t want a band and instead would just collaborate with musicians I would love to play with and musicians who would love to play with me. Thus, I started a journey to find new musicians to work with. I would continue to play my kind of songs, but different people walked in and out colouring my songs differently. It was like watching my children getting dressed in different clothes every time, getting better and better. I was convinced that this is the path for me, and The Raghu Dixit Project began to take shape with each concert and collaboration.

You are a gold medallist in Masters in Microbiology. How did music happen?

Music was always in me! Life had taken me to Belgium where I was working as a microbiologist, and there one of my colleagues sent my song to a local radio station. The fantastic response they got convinced me to follow my passion.

You are also a trained Indian classical dancer. How did that complement your musical pursuits?

I must credit every bit of my musical instincts to my dance background. Though I never learnt music formally, music was always around me every day because of dance. But more importantly, what dance taught me was stage presence through the concept of ‘Rasothpatthi’. According to Natya Shastra, the text book of Indian classical dance, the artist should become the mirror that reflects the emotions of an audience. If I reflect happiness with my expression/music, the audience, too, will feel that happiness and that’s how a connection is built between an artist and an audience.

Most of your songs are influenced by Shishunala Sharif. What about him inspired you?

I write songs about my land and my people. Santha Shishunala Sharif is the Kabir of Karnataka. His poetry got me interested in the ancient poetry of our land and into discovering our rich culture, which I’m proudly showcasing wherever we play.

What sort of challenges do you face in your day-to-day professional life?

I’m working on our next album, which is a collaboration with UK artists Bellowhead, for the British Council and Southbank Centre. We’re off to tour the UK again this summer, and we’re also waiting for the release of our first Bollywood project. So, finding enough time to do all the music related projects is the biggest challenge!

What can we expect from Raghu in the near future?

We’ve been chosen as the British Council Soundpad artists and have started an open-ended collaborative performance with Southbank Centre’s artists-in-residence, Bellowhead, and Kathak dance maestro, Gauri Sharma Tripathi. The idea is to adapt a popular Indian folk tale to a music-and-dance based narrative. It is only at a conceptual stage right now. We're also part  of the first edition of Coke Studio in India, and we’re working on songs for our next album.