Music knows no boundaries,” asserts Pratap Singh Nirwan, founder of Swaraag—an Indo-Western band from Jaipur—when asked about how their tunes have been received by diverse audiences across India. He adds, “It is often the beats that seize the listener’s attention.” Since their formation in 2014, Swaraag has been enthralling audiences in India and globally—Turkey, Italy, Dubai, Thailand, etc.,—by seamlessly blending traditional Rajasthani music with Western genres. But that’s not all, confirms Nirwan.
“We [the band] even fuse Tamil and Telugu songs with Rajasthani music.”
The band’s name is derived from the Hindi words ‘swa’, which means ‘self’, and ‘raag’ meaning ‘scale in Indian music’. Ask Nirwan about their upcoming release Yun Savarna—this indie song will debut on leading streaming platforms on April 22—and he emphasises that Swaraag has always strived for versatility and novelty, and their “forte lies in the fusion of classical, folk, and Western music”. Yun Savarna, for instance, starts with a Sufi touch and smoothly leads into an Arabian-inspired melody.
A fine fusion
Founded by Arif Khan and Nirwan, Swaraag was launched as an instrumental band. Their line-up, however, started expanding as their popularity soared. The band boasts an eclectic mix of instruments—khartal-morchang, zitar, tabla, saxophone, and acoustic guitar—each lending its unique timbre to the band’s sound, and harmoniously blending Eastern and Western musical sensibilities.
The nine-member musical outfit has lead singer, Asif Urra along with Saif Ali Khan and Sajid Khan (percussionists), Arif Khan (on the khartal-morchak), Tasruf Ali (saxophonist), sitarist Arif Khan, guitarist Rey Rozer, and Sahil Khan (bassist). “The hallmark of Swaraag has always been our heavy use of instruments; if you see us perform live, you’ll witness the sitar, tabla, saxophone, and other instruments with an Indian touch, which is also prominent in Yun Savarna,’” shares Nirwan.
The soul connection
Swaraag’s success has not gone unnoticed. Apart from being lauded for their “soulful and meaningful music” by Indian film actor Ram Charan of RRR fame, the band has attracted a following both in India and beyond. “We always hear what our audience wants us to do and what is acceptable to our audience,” concludes Nirwan.