Mumbai: Traditional classical music in India has enjoyed an exalted position among music connoisseurs and several legendary musicians have contributed to the art form over the ages.
One such illustrious musician was Ustad Vilayat Khan and his equally illustrious daughter Ustaad Maa Zila Khan.
Ms Zila Khan has been carrying forward the music of the Imdad Khani gharana and is the first empowered female performer from the gharana.
Her son Faizan Khan is the only grandchild of Ustad Vilayat Khan and the flag bearer of the eighth generation of this gharana.
The mother-son duo has come together for the “FeZ Project”, which aims to bring the youth closer to traditional classical music, and is named for the collaboration between Faizan and his mother.
Excerpts from an interview with Faizan:
What’s your vision for the FeZ project?
The youth of today has been disconnected to a large extent with classical music for a long time.
This project aims to bridge that disconnect. This project is not the only way that Classical music will survive or thrive in the future.
The traditional form is extremely important in itself and it will thrive, but because the youth, which is the major chunk of today’s population, is so disconnected from the genre, the survival of classical music in the future is threatened.
That’s why we need to find common ground, and the FeZ project is exactly that.
It encompasses traditional classical music with various other genres of music that are familiar to the youth, so that a foundation can be built to start listening to classical music again.
What as it like collaborating with your mother?
Working with my mother was a great experience. It is the first time we have collaborated on something like this.
My mother is acclaimed in her own genre, which is Sufi, classical and semi-classical.
As a purist and a traditional singer, to be open-minded enough as an artist and to do something slightly out of the box, it takes a lot of courage and foresight, which she always has.
It was a lot of fun, and she gave me a lot of freedom when it came to choosing the modern genres of music, which were combined with the traditional songs.
(Above top to bottom) Scenes from Faizan’s childhood: Playing the sitar with grandfather Ustad Vilayat Khan.
You come from an extremely illustrious musical family…tell us something about your association with music.
Since childhood, I was immersed in music in a household that was a 24/7 hub for it.
My first official teacher was my grandfather, the late Ustad Vilayat Khan.
I used to learn the sitar from him, and he used to give me those tiny sitars, which kept growing bigger with time. He used to teach me the ragas too.
Later it was my mother who started training me in music, but she didn’t restrict herself to traditional music alone.
She trained me in world music too so that I could appreciate all kinds of music.
I have been lucky, because I have been exposed to all kinds of music — pop, hip-hop, electronic, jazz, and rock music.
It’s a balance of both worlds, traditional as well as contemporary.
What do you think of the music scenario in India, and where do you think it is heading?
Music in the country now is at a great position on one side and needs to buckle up in few other areas.
From the Bollywood perspective, things have never been better after the downside it went through in the last decade.
From the indie music perspective, their time has come under the sun.
They are being promoted, appreciated and are thriving , however the money in this industry is really low.
Compared to their Bollywood counterparts the artists in the indie scene are getting much less than what they deserve.
From a classical music perspective, there is a very niche audience in our country now.
The sad part is, that audience is growing a little smaller as each successive generation is approaching.
From a youth perspective, that is where they are losing out a lot in terms of culture, heritage, tradition and art.
This is where we are trying to revive and sustain classical music.
If people don’t listen to such music now, what guarantee do we have that three to four generations down the line such music will not cease to exist.
Honestly, in todays scenario if a random youngster is asked to name a few classical songs or raagas you will be greeted with a blank stare.
Infact, hardly two out of ten people may be able to tell you the names of renowned classical musicians of the early generations.
This disconnect has to be disrupted and a connection to traditional classical music has to be established.
Will you collaborate with more accomplished musicians in the future?
Yes. Two songs have come out so far and they have already garnered a lot of attention from industry stalwarts, both independent and Bollywood.
For the second season of the FeZ project, we are already in talks with various artists to collaborate.
There are a lot of independent artists and music projects today. How does the FeZ project stand out?
I agree, there are artists and music projects, but they are all in the genres of pop, indie music, electronic music etc.
No one has started something with classical Indian music.
That is where we stand out from the crowd. All our songs are ragas, and are traditional at heart.
Only the music sets us apart. We are trying to create a sort of a movement with the FeZ project.
Listen to the songs from the FeZ Project here:
