Gwyneth Glyn shares her experience of collaborating with ghazal singer Tauseef Akhtar

Credit: Ethos photography

"Ghazalaw

It is difficult to imagine that barely a year ago I had never heard about – let alone having met and collaborated with Tauseef Akhtar, the ghazal singer from Mumbai. By now we are great pals and are preparing to share an album of our music with the world.

This propitious meeting took place thanks to Donal Wheelan, the mastering expert and our mutual friend. Following encouragement and support by Wales Arts International, Tauseef came to spend a week at Donal’s Roundhouse in St Hillary, in the Vale of Glamorgan. Here we both shared songs and poetry, learning and absorbing the wealth of our two cultures.

Tauseef sings an ancient form of poetry called Ghazal, which originates in 6^th century Arabic verse.  Tauseef would read couplets of Ghazal from his father’s personal manuscripts (and a few from his ipad!) Very early on the themes and images reminded me of a Welsh folk melody, or some old verse or other.

Then I would start to delve into T.H. Parry Williams’ collection of old verses, or into my own recollections, and would find the verse that had rung a bell. Then, Tauseef would improvise on his harmonium to find a melody for his Ghazal; and another melody would spring to my mind as I wove the old verses around it with my guitar. By the first day we had a finished song, and more important still, we felt that something special – something unique and exciting – was afoot.

Since that autumn week at the Roundhouse the project has grown substantially. We both felt that we needed other musicians to bring the songs to their full potential. With further support from Wales Arts International, and their willingness to see this link bearing fruit, Georgia Ruth Williams, the harpist joined me on my journey to Mumbai in November 2012, when we spent a week developing the songs with Tauseef and three of India’s most prominent musicians: Manas Kumar and his violin, Ashish Jha on the tabla and Sanjoy Das on guitar. The highlight of the week was performing in two of India’s major music festivals, namely the Desert Festival, Delhi, and the IndiEarth Exchange in Chennai.

After experiencing such a warm and emotional reaction to the music, Tauseef and I couldn’t wait to record the songs. This was made possible thanks to support from the Arts Council of Wales, and a generous sponsorship from Air India. During a five day period of freezing conditions and heavy snow (and a heavier head cold!) somehow or other we managed to recreate the warmth and atmosphere of the dark Mumbai room where we had been collaborating. The sensation of bringing the songs back to their source at the Roundhouse was a magical experience. Under the wing of producer Charlie Francis, we succeeded in making live recordings more or less of the 10 songs, adhering to the folk essence of both traditions.

It was a delightful experience performing the work for the first time to an audience in Wales at the Hoddinott Hall, Wales Millennium Centre. The reaction was even more enthusiastic this time, and the audience were excited by this new and unexpected combination of ancient traditions.

Now, we hope to bring the Ghazalaw album to the attention (and ears) of the world.

For more information visit http://www.wai.org.uk/asia/india/5536" Gwyneth Glyn, June 2013