<div>She is a trained Hindustani classical vocalist and performer, while he is a multi-skilled producer, vocalist, and audio engineer, and together they have been globetrotting as ‘Hari and Sukhmani’, a music band, since 2009. Known for folktronica and fusion music, the duo blends traditional Punjabi folk tunes with electronica.<br /><br />Giving a peek into their ideas and tunes, the artistes say, “It’s all about the music. Folk songs are beautiful. They talk of a simpler time and the tunes resonate those times. People are telling us these days that it’s time to go commercial, make generic stuff. Music is bigger than us. To learn, evolve and immerse into it is the most important thing. We have our own character and that defines us. That is Hari and Sukhmani.”<br /><br />The band, whose “motto is to leave behind cultural, religious, and racial divides”, has featured on BBC Radio UK, and shows like Star World’s ‘The Dewarists’, ‘Coke Studio @ MTV’, Fox Traveller’s ‘Sound Trek’ and the Tehelka Music Project. They are now all set to perform and say “the one thing that needs to reflect in all our songs is soul.”<br /><br />“If it’s a folk song, then the song itself tells us what music is required. It’s very feel oriented. It comes naturally if you make the music without any preconceived notions. You can’t make a slow song into a fast one just because it may be liked by more people,” they say.<br /><br />The duo continues, “Punjabi folk is very different to commercial folk. Intentions were simpler; lyrics like ‘Teri aayee main marjaan’ are hard to come by. People who are 60-70 years old come up to us and tell us their grandparents used to sing the songs we sing. There’s an instant connect. Those who are not inert to feeling good music appreciate us.<br /> <br />Hence, we feel the need to keep it alive because it’s good music.” However, they are quick to add that their music “is for a niche market”, but “those whom we click with really tend to love us.” Known for songs like ‘Madhaniya’, ‘Tilley Waliya’, ‘Challa’ and ‘Meri Aisi Jhanjar’, Hari Singh and Sukhmani Malik draw inspiration from Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Kabir and Shah Hussain. <br /><br />They have also collaborated with artistes and bands like Noori (Pakistan), Arshad Khan (Israj Player), Thu Le (Vietnam, Western guitarist), and Trilok Gurtu (percussionist), among others in the past.<br /><br />“It is always nice to work with an artiste who is evolved, has a lot of substance and soul which can reflect in our songs; and those artistes we can learn from,” they say. With an album in the pipeline, the musical duo says that India’s indie music community has “evolved leaps and bounds.” This is because, they say, “People are now accepting and appreciating the individualness of artistes. More people are appreciating art. More people are finding a voice. It’s becoming more socially acceptable to talk about issues. It’s a great time in terms of art forms’ evolution in our country.”<br /><br /></div>
<div>She is a trained Hindustani classical vocalist and performer, while he is a multi-skilled producer, vocalist, and audio engineer, and together they have been globetrotting as ‘Hari and Sukhmani’, a music band, since 2009. Known for folktronica and fusion music, the duo blends traditional Punjabi folk tunes with electronica.<br /><br />Giving a peek into their ideas and tunes, the artistes say, “It’s all about the music. Folk songs are beautiful. They talk of a simpler time and the tunes resonate those times. People are telling us these days that it’s time to go commercial, make generic stuff. Music is bigger than us. To learn, evolve and immerse into it is the most important thing. We have our own character and that defines us. That is Hari and Sukhmani.”<br /><br />The band, whose “motto is to leave behind cultural, religious, and racial divides”, has featured on BBC Radio UK, and shows like Star World’s ‘The Dewarists’, ‘Coke Studio @ MTV’, Fox Traveller’s ‘Sound Trek’ and the Tehelka Music Project. They are now all set to perform and say “the one thing that needs to reflect in all our songs is soul.”<br /><br />“If it’s a folk song, then the song itself tells us what music is required. It’s very feel oriented. It comes naturally if you make the music without any preconceived notions. You can’t make a slow song into a fast one just because it may be liked by more people,” they say.<br /><br />The duo continues, “Punjabi folk is very different to commercial folk. Intentions were simpler; lyrics like ‘Teri aayee main marjaan’ are hard to come by. People who are 60-70 years old come up to us and tell us their grandparents used to sing the songs we sing. There’s an instant connect. Those who are not inert to feeling good music appreciate us.<br /> <br />Hence, we feel the need to keep it alive because it’s good music.” However, they are quick to add that their music “is for a niche market”, but “those whom we click with really tend to love us.” Known for songs like ‘Madhaniya’, ‘Tilley Waliya’, ‘Challa’ and ‘Meri Aisi Jhanjar’, Hari Singh and Sukhmani Malik draw inspiration from Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Kabir and Shah Hussain. <br /><br />They have also collaborated with artistes and bands like Noori (Pakistan), Arshad Khan (Israj Player), Thu Le (Vietnam, Western guitarist), and Trilok Gurtu (percussionist), among others in the past.<br /><br />“It is always nice to work with an artiste who is evolved, has a lot of substance and soul which can reflect in our songs; and those artistes we can learn from,” they say. With an album in the pipeline, the musical duo says that India’s indie music community has “evolved leaps and bounds.” This is because, they say, “People are now accepting and appreciating the individualness of artistes. More people are appreciating art. More people are finding a voice. It’s becoming more socially acceptable to talk about issues. It’s a great time in terms of art forms’ evolution in our country.”<br /><br /></div>
