He can almost create perfect harmony with the versatility of his musical talents. The extremely talented multi percussionist Pete Lockett has been doing some interesting work in bringing together some of the most folk eclectic tunes of the instruments like the Derun, Bhapang, Maante, Nagara, Dhol and many more.
Having experimented with Indian to Arabic and Japanese music, Pete Lockett is certainly defining new standards in percussion. And all this with a passion and energy that is so magnetic and makes you want to immerse in the thinking sounds.
Pete Lockett recently performed at the Rajasthani International Folk Festival at Jodhpur and left the audience spellbound by the sheer electric atmosphere that he created with almost 28 folk musicians from Rajasthan. He has collaborated with Indian artists like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram, Bickram Ghosh, U Shrinivas and A.R. Rahman among the many in the past. His recent project in Rajasthan includes collaborating with the folk musicians from Rajasthan, which he was particularly fascinated by.
One of the most important things he did was study the villages and their lifestyle as well as their style of music. Pete felt that the only way to know them was by living with them, understanding them, which was essentially one of the pre-requisites for collaboration. “What we did was go from village to village and observe their style. Along the way we integrated other elements of music. We wanted to tell them what the whole process of playing RIFF was all about,” says Pete. It was important for the people to know their role in the venture. It wasn’t just about accompanying a solo artist and creating some music. “The whole idea was to bring the unique sound of their instruments on stage and create the perfect blend,” enthuses Pete. He says that once they became comfortable with the idea, they were open to suggestions and working around. “It was a lot of fun and honestly a lot of hardwork at the same time. Not very easy to bring so many artists on one stage from different villages,” says Pete.
After having worked with some international artists it was certainly exciting for Pete to delve deeper into Rajasthani villages looking for talent. “It was more of studio work with the international artists where we would meet, discuss music and have a good time recording. But this was one of its kinds where one could actually understand people and their mind. It didn’t matter if we didn’t speak the same language because attitude and passion towards music mattered than anything else. It was interesting to see their tradition and know the nuances of it for better sync,” reasons Pete. He emphasises how language is truly not a barrier as with musical notes and beats one is able to communicate easily without any interpreter.
Pete has mostly worked with musicians of the classical repertoire and is looking forward to some similar exciting collaboration like the one at Rajasthan.
“I want to visit and study the different regions across India for their unique style,” he says.