NEW DELHI: French singer and composer Davy Sicard, who recently performed here, feels collaborations among musicians from different countries is a way of “sharing cultures”.
The musician, who came to the fore with his compositions of folk form ‘Maloya,’ a mix of African slave chants and rhythms, was in concert with Rajasthani traditional musicians including Parveen Sabrina Khan at the Taj Mahal Hotel here.
“I first performed in India and Jodhpur RIFF in 2011. That was like discovering a part of my own culture as India contributed to help bring population to Reunion Island (France) after the abolition of slavery in 1848.
“I would love to collaborate with Indian musicians. It is a way of going further in sharing our cultures and also to show that cultural differences are not a barrier,” Sicard told PTI.
For Sicard, whose tryst with music began with playing guitar at the age of 18, the art goes beyond borders as, he feels, languages or cultures can never be impediments. “Music is universal. It goes far beyond languages and ways of life. There are some common points between my music and Indian music, especially in rhythms and melodies,” says the songwriter.
He also expressed his interest in Indian music saying his recent experience of listening to Rajasthani folk singer Bhanwari Devi has left him “impressed”.
“I am very interested in Indian music. I have recently discovered a lady singer called Bhanwari Devi whom I find really amazing. I am very impressed with her,” he says.
However, he does not seem very keen on learning any Indian musical instrument. Instead he says he wants to focus on the “ways of singing”.
“I do not play any Indian musical instrument yet. It is a lot of work to learn it and at the moment I am just considering and carefully listening to the ways of singing,” he says.
While Sicard has visited Rajasthan quite a few times, this was his first visit to the Capital. He says he is overwhelmed with the warmth with which he has been hosted on several occasions in the country and calls the Indian hostility “unprecedented.”
“Every time we come here we have beautiful hosts and this makes me want to share even more things with the people here. I would like to visit more of India and especially the southern part as Indian people from Reunion Island mostly came from this area,” he says. (AGENCIES)
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