The Voice is a Wild Thing Series #3: Changing the Narrative of the Song & the Story with Musician and Actor Ronobir Lahiri
“I never really felt all that Indian until I picked up a sitar.
Even now after playing for almost 30 years, I hear that and it sounds like the authentic voice of my soul.”
Musician, actor, composer, singer, dad, and overall Renaissance man Ronobir Lahiri takes us through the journey of following his dream and finding his voice as an artist. He discusses his experience navigating the racial landscape of American theatre and television, and how he was able to pivot, adapt and find a place as a creative artist in that paradigm.
Ronobir also performs live for us, a beautiful rendition of “I Say a Little Prayer,” and talks about his music, how he began to play the sitar and the importance of not burying our voice as we go through life, in defining who we are, what we’re doing, and how we talk to ourselves.
Meet This Episode's Guest
Ronobir Lahiri
Ronobir Lahiri has been playing sitar for 25 years. After intense classical training in Calcutta, India, under Sri Deepak Choudhuri, the preeminant disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, he returned to the USA and made a departure from the strict classical form.
With a head full of Indian melody, he began to explore the parallels between the cyclical narrative form of raga and tala, and brought on board the hypnotic, relentless evolving repitition of house music. Drawing inspiration from Philip Glass, Jerry Garcia, Miles Davis, among others, the new album, "Hypnosis," is an epic blend of Indian and club, creating an auditory environment that is at once uplifting and meditative, energetic and chilled out, spiritual and intensely viceral.
'Hypnosis: Deep House Sitar,' was released on the Hearts of Space label, for Valley Entertainment, and is available on iTunes, Amazon, and many other digital retailers. In 2013 he was featured on Katy Perry's album Prism, the song "Legendary Lovers," and plays a eloquent sitar solo on Ziggy Marley's 2014 album Fly Rasta, the song "Sunshine." He performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 2013 with the Blue Man Group and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Sitar-driven deep progressive house.
Find out more about Ronobir on his website, see more of his music on his YouTube Channel, and connect with him on Facebook!