The influence which minimalism has had in electronic music from the early 70s (such as, for instance, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, the first group to use synthesisers in their music) continue to be alive even today, especially in the Berlin School style of “sequential” electronic music (sequenced modern EM). Ostinato musical phrases, which are characteristic to minimalism – just how they appear for example in great works such as The Well-Tuned Piano (Monte Young) or the work Piano Phase (Steve Reich) and particularly in Music with Changing Parts (Philip Glass) or Rainbow in Curved Air (Terry Riley) – can induce in the listener a state of trance, causing modified state of consciousness. In this direction is not surprising that many modern composers of electronic music have been influenced by Asian musical traditions, such as the Balinese.
In the rhythmic psychedelic hallucinogens and even hypnotic “journeys”, which are characteristic to electronic music in the Berlin School style, it is possible to experience the same state of “trance” which we referred to earlier, due to the repetition of some precise musical structures, which are electronically “ordered”. For this reason, it is not surprising that some musicians who have deep spiritual preoccupations discovered the most suitable language to explore these mysteries in the “Berlin School”. For instance, artists such as Kitaro… or the one who we will talk about now, the Romanian Dan Bozaru, who creates music under the stage name INDRA.
Born in 1961, in the city of Dragasani in the county of Valcea (Romania), the young Bozaru began in 1976 to study percussion at the School of Art in Iasi (one of the larger cities in the country, where his family moved to), guided by an innate fascination for rhythm and its form of expression. “In my opinion, rhythm is the most important thing, both in music and in everyone’s life, because it represents the pulsation and vibration of energy (…) The melody itself is born from an organic response to the rhythm’s evolving structure which makes it magical and mysterious (…) through music and rhythm we can influence in a beneficial way our perception, our psychic states, our moods and of course our health”. Bozaru thus takes part of the large group of composers of electronic music, with a background as a percussionist.
From percussion he moved to the guitar after a year of study, while collaborating later as a solo guitarist with some groups of progressive rock and folk, such as Rocking or Echo. His style was influenced by the famous David Gilmour, solo guitarist with the legendary progressive rock group Pink Floyd: “The progressive approach to music was simply born from the desire of expressing something more sophisticated and elaborate than the standards of the 70s”. This step allowed the Romanian musician to experiment with different sound effects, which could be obtained with the electric guitar using effect pedals: “My solos on the guitar were somewhat ‘slow-hand’, long sustained, with deep vibration and echo, dominant and rather melodic. I often tried different strange effects using the effect pedals and glissandos.”
In the mid ’80s, Bozaru started to study oriental philosophy and yoga, which influenced in a natural state the spirit and significance of his artistic work: “When I came into contact and profound syntony with the wonderful oriental tradition, an infinitely more elevated spiritual stage began in my life.” Spirituality thus became the most important source of inspiration for him, as well as a guide in musical creation. Even the stage name he chose (INDRA) in electronic music refers to one of the great gods of the Hindu pantheon, who had a very important role in vedic spirituality from ancient times. He was known as the god of storms, the one who was the master of meteorological phenomena, such as rain, thunder and lightning. The connection of the great god INDRA with the storm made him also to be correlated with war (INDRA being known as a great hero). Considering the importance that Bozaru gives to rhythm in his music, this mythological “partnership” is certainly a perfect fit.
Most surprising is the fact that, according to the musician’s own statements, his relationship with the vedic divinity deepened following some unique spiritual experiences, which marked completely his future musical activity, both in terms of creativity and performing. Bozaru reports that during a long period of “isolation” which involved some difficult and complicated yoga techniques, the god INDRA himself appeared in a clear vision, telling him he will inspire him to help people through music, so they would have access to a more elevated dimension of life, and full of peace and harmony. Since then, Bozaru combined his work as a musician and author of some esoteric books with the spiritual universe of oriental practice and philosophy.
In the beginning of the 90s the artist began to develop a special passion for electronic music and sound technology, teaching himself (the same way he proceeded also with the learning guitar) to play instruments with keys: “Essentially, I was interested in getting the most out of the instrumental capabilities of modern synthesisers. I wasn’t a virtuoso, but the tones represented an almost infinite source for my inspiration and I was so happy to discover that this way I can express effectively my ideas in music (…) Today I’ve realised there are no limits of expression when one uses the latest technology in electronic music. All that one needs is elevated inspiration and a lot of patience… I am also convinced that electronic music helped me understand the depths of human nature.”
In 1993 Bozaru set up his first recording studio, producing his first solo album of electronic music, entitled Turning Away. Then, immediately, followed another three albums: Kingdom of Light, Parallel Time and Space. A year later he signed a contract with the company Inter-Lotus, creating a series of albums that brought him recognition in the specialist mass-media: Plenitude, Magic Collection, Seven, Cosmic Sound, Colosseum and Self Game. In 1995 he recorded three more albums for the label Digital Records and made his first live concert in Constanta. This was only the beginning of long and fruitful career as a musician.
In a strictly musical sense, INDRA’s work was influenced to a certain extent by the style of Jean-Michelle Jarre and Vangelis (who INDRA in particular admires, stating that he professed a great “creativity and extraordinary artistic sensitivity”), but the most profound influence was the musicians in the Berlin School style electronic music in particular, Klaus Schulze, who “showed” him how to explore this fascinating world of sound, “surrendering” some of his basic principles. Bozaru has always been very clear stating that, of all forms and styles of electronic music, the Berlin School style is the one with which he identifies the most, being the nearest to the expression of his musical and spiritual interests: “The Berlin School style might be conceived as “the richest section” of EM. As a matter of fact, I consider it the most elevated style due to its power of expression, which is actually able to “shift” the human mental and psychic perception to its highest (…) I think it also succeeded in expressing in a most accurate way the highest states of subtle perception and emotion.”
Although the “roots” of his musical creation are infused by the Berlin School style, INDRA’s music succeeds in transcending it, embracing also other trends more or less related to this style, such as ambient or new-age, offering a more musical and spiritual component to his work. Even if he appreciates a lot this style of electronic music, Bozaru is also aware of its “limitations”, supporting the development of a superior and “improved” version of what represents the legacy of the Berlin School: “Old Berlin School style “sins” because of some “sterility” at the emotional level. The mental state of trance, reachable when listening to a few typical Berlin School style music tracks, is not necessarily obtainable through long, monotone, sometimes tiresome and often not very suggestive repeated sequences (…) Ostinato is good, but it has to be used in an optimum way. I think I succeeded in bringing this dimension of ‘making things happen’ to the Berlin School style, adding also a hint of melodic line, which has the role to connect the listener to their heart.”
An representative example of the new “version” of the Berlin School style proposed by INDRA can be found in the “adrenalinised” song ‘Pole Shift’ on the album The Call of Shiva (vol. 1) – 2005, which is without doubt one of the best of his works. Rhythmic Sequences (sequential patterns) filled with emotion, which are surrounded from time to time by sonorous oriental “aromas” that invite us to close our eyes and to transpose ourselves in an agreeable state imposed by the melody, giving the music a particularly dynamic breath, propelling us deeper into the state of trance. In brief, something truly spectacular.
(Special thanks to Ismael G. Cabral (Chorro de Luz) and Pablo Freire (Audinautas) for their technical help in editing this presentation.)
http://electroalquimia.blogspot.ro/2012/10/the-call-of-shiva-vol-1-indra-2005.html
(original version in Spanish)
No deja de resultar significativa la influencia que ha tenido la música minimalista en la electrónica popular de principios de los 70 (sirvan como ejemplo los pioneros Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, el primer grupo en utilizar sintetizadores) y, más concretamente, en la electrónica secuencial surgida en Berlín. Ese fraseo en ostinato tan característico del Minimalismo, tal y como se puede apreciar en obras de la envergadura de The Well-Tuned Piano (La Monte Young), Piano Phase (Steve Reich) y, muy especialmente, Music with Changing Parts (Philip Glass) o A Rainbow in Curved Air (Terry Riley), puede llegar a inducir al oyente a un estado de trance, provocando un cambio en su consciencia. No es de extrañar, por tanto, lo influidos que estuvieron muchos de estos compositores por tradiciones musicales asiáticas tales como la balinesa.
En los psicotrópicos, alucinógenos e hipnóticos viajes secuenciales característicos de la música electrónica berlinesa también se puede experimentar ese mismo estado de “trance” al que antes hacía referencia gracias nuevamente a la repetición de determinadas estructuras de notas, si bien en este caso están grabadas y “secuenciadas” electrónicamente. Por ese motivo, no resulta del todo extraño que músicos de profundas inquietudes espirituales encontraran en la “Berliner Schule” el lenguaje más idóneo para explorar y ahondar en dichas inquietudes. Músicos como Kitaro… o el que nos ocupa, el rumano Dan Bozaru con su proyecto INDRA.
Nacido en 1961 en Drăgășani, una ciudad rumana perteneciente al distrito de Vâlcea, el joven Bozaru empezó en el año 1976 a estudiar percusión en la School of Art de Iaşi, movido por una innata fascinación por el ritmo y sus formas de expresión: “In my opinion, rhythm is the most important thing, both in music and in everyone’s life, because it represents the pulsation and vibration of energy (…) The melody itself is born from an organic response to the rhythm’s evolving structure which makes it magical and mysterious (…) through music and rhythm we can influence in a beneficial way our perception, our psychic states, our moods and of course our health”. Bozaru pasa así a formar parte de ese nutrido grupo de músicos electrónicos con un background como percusionistas.
De la percusión pasó, un año después, a la guitarra, colaborando posteriormente como guitarrista en varios grupos de folk y rock, tales como Rocking o Echo. Su estilo estaba influido por el de David Gilmour, guitarrista (entre otras labores) del mítico grupo de rock progresivo Pink Floyd: “The progressive approach to music was simply born from the desire of expressing something more sophisticated and elaborate than the standards of the 70s”. Esta etapa permitió al músico experimentar con los distintos efectos sonoros que conseguía sacar de la guitarra eléctrica gracias al uso de los pedales: “My solos on the guitar were somewhat ‘slow-hand’, long sustained, with deep vibration and echo, dominant and rather melodic. I often tried different strange effects using the effect pedals and glissandos.”
A mediados de los ochenta, Bozaru comenzó a estudiar filosofía oriental y a practicar yoga, lo cual influyó de forma natural en el espíritu y el significado de sus obras: “When I came into contact and profound syntony with the wonderful oriental tradition, an infinitely more elevated spiritual stage began in my life.” Y esa espiritualidad sería su mayor fuente de inspiración como músico, guiándolo a la hora de crear su música. El propio nombre de su futuro proyecto de música electrónica, Indra, hace referencia a una deidad mitológica hindú que ya gozaba de un importante papel en el primitivo hinduismo védico. Era conocido como el dios de las tormentas, y por tanto controlaba los fenómenos meteorológicos tales como la lluvia, el trueno y el rayo. Dicha conexión con las tormentas lo llevó a ser relacionado igualmente con la guerra. Teniendo en cuenta la importancia que Bozaru le concede al ritmo en su música, esta “asociación” mitológica no podría, ciertamente, ser más acertada.
Lo más sorprendente es que, según declaraciones del propio músico, su vinculación creativa con la deidad védica surgió de una experiencia espiritual extraordinaria que marcaría decisivamente toda su futura actividad musical e inspiración. Al parecer, durante un largo período de “reclusión” entregado a la práctica de una “complicada técnica de yoga” el mismísimo dios Indra se le apareció en una clara visión, y le dijo que lo inspiraría para ayudar a la gente, mediante la música, a acceder a una dimensión más elevada de la vida, pletórica de paz y armonía. Y desde entonces Bozaru ha compaginado su labor como músico con la de escritor de obras esotéricas y relacionadas con el mundo espiritual.
A principios de los noventa el músico empezó a desarrollar una gran pasión por la música electrónica y la tecnología, aprendiendo de forma autodidacta (igual que con la guitarra) a tocar los teclados: “Essentially, I was interested in getting the most out of the instrumental capabilities of modern synthesisers. I wasn’t a virtuoso, but the tones represented an almost infinite source for my inspiration and I was so happy to discover that this way I can express effectively my ideas in music (…) Today I’ve realised there are no limits of expression when one uses the latest technology in electronic music. All that one needs is elevated inspiration and a lot of patience… I am also convinced that electronic music helped me understand the depths of human nature.”
En el año 1993 Bozaru montó su primer estudio digital, en donde produciría, de forma independiente, su primer trabajo electrónico en solitario, titulado Turning Away, y el cual iría ya firmado como Indra. Después vendrían tres más, Kingdom of Light, Parallel Time y Space. Un año más tarde firmaría con el sello Inter-Lotus, con el que produciría una serie de álbumes que le reportarían el reconocimiento de los medios especializados: Plenitude, Magic Collection, Seven, Cosmic Sound, Colosseum y Self Game. En 1995 grabaría tres trabajos más para el sello Digital Records y daría su primer gran concierto en la ciudad de Constanza. Y aquéllo no sería más que el comienzo de una larga y prolífica trayectoria como músico.
En un sentido estrictamente musical, las influencias de INDRA tienen como obvios referentes la obra de Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis (del que Indra alaba su “creatividad y extraordinaria sensibilidad artística”) y, sobre todo, los músicos de la Escuela de Berlín, principalmente Klaus Schulze, el cual le “mostraría” cómo explorar aquel fascinante universo sonoro, “enseñándole” algunos de sus principios básicos. Bozaru ha tenido siempre muy claro que, de todas las distintas manifestaciones de la música electrónica, ésa es aquélla con la que más se identifica y, por tanto, la más apropiada también para plasmar sus inquietudes musicales y espirituales: “The Berlin School style might be conceived as “the richest section” of EM. As a matter of fact, I consider it the most elevated style due to its power of expression, which is actually able to “shift” the human mental and psychic perception to its highest (…) I think it also succeeded in expressing in a most accurate way the highest states of subtle perception and emotion.”
Aunque la raíz de su música esté imbuida por el estilo de la Escuela de Berlín, la música de Indra va más allá, abrazando otras corrientes más o menos afines como el ambient o la new age, y aportando asimismo un componente más espiritual y emotivo a su música. Y es que, a pesar de su amor por dicho estilo, Bozaru es también consciente de sus “limitaciones”, abogando por el desarrollo de una versión superior y “mejorada” de aquel legado heredado de los berlineses: “Old Berlin School style “sins” because of some “sterility” at the emotional level. The mental state of trance, reachable when listening to a few typical Berlin School style music tracks, is not necessarily obtainable through long, monotone, sometimes tiresome and often not very suggestive repeated sequences (…) Ostinato is good, but it has to be used in an optimum way. I think I succeeded in bringing this dimension of ‘making things happen’ to the Berlin School style, adding also a hint of melodic line, which has the role to connect the listener to their heart.”
Un ejemplo representativo de esta nueva “versión” de la electrónica berlinesa propuesta por Indra lo podemos encontrar en la adrenalínica pieza incluida a continuación, titulada ‘Pole Shift’, y extraída del álbum The Call of Shiva (vol.1), sin duda alguna uno de sus mejores trabajos. Emocionantes patrones secuenciales envueltos en un cierto y ocasional aroma oriental invitan al oyente a cerrar los ojos y dejarse llevar por su embriagador sentido del ritmo, el cual da aliento a la música, propulsándola bien lejos, sin apenas conceder al espectador unos minutos de respiro durante sus más de diez minutos de duración. En resumidas cuentas, espectacular.
(Mi más profundo agradecimiento a Ismael G. Cabral (Chorro de Luz) y Pablo Freire (Audionautas) por su invaluable asesoramiento técnico en la redacción de esta entrada.)
http://electroalquimia.blogspot.ro/2012/10/the-call-of-shiva-vol-1-indra-2005.html