Debashish Bhattacharya: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

You've probably never seen or heard an instrument like this. The Hindustani slide guitar is the creation of Debashish Bhattacharya, whose creation pairs his first love - a Hawaiian lap steel guitar, a gift from his father when he was only 3 - and the sounds of India. You can see the similarities to a lap steel guitar, as Bhattacharya lays the guitar across his legs, sliding a metal bar to create the fluid, almost vocal melodies. The additional strings (and lack of frets) allow him to slide easily between notes, in the process creating a sound that resonates and drones while remaining attuned to his Calcutta home.
His music incorporates a good deal of North Indian (Hindustani) classical music, but you can also hear the blues pouring out from this stunning creation. I first met Bhattacharya 17 years ago when he was touring with other great slide guitarists, Bob Brozman and Martin Simpson. In those 17 years, his music has become even more astonishing, and his instrument refined even further. This trio includes his daughter (Anandi Bhattacharya) on vocals and his brother (Subhasis Bhattacharjee) on tabla.
The current album and some of what's played here today can be found on two different records, the first with guitarist John McLaughlin and Dobro master Jerry Douglas (titled Beyond the Ragasphere) and the second with his brother and daughter (titled Madeira: If Music Could Intoxicate). These are brilliant recordings - and a good place to start exploring more from this unique artist after his intoxicating Tiny Desk Concert is done causing your jaw to drop. --BOB BOILEN
Set List
"Raaga Khamaj"
"O My Beloved!/Pillusion"
Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Gabriella Garcia-Pardo, Becky Harlan, Meredith Rizzo

[@wanderingwolf9547]

The best thing about this is Debashish's proud glances at his daughter who is totally starring.

[@shplangy]

I had the pleasure of seeing Debashish Bhattacharya and Subashish Bhattachargee (on tables) perform 3 times during my undergraduate studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa. They performed in two of my classes, and I saw a third performance at the Honolulu Academy of the Arts. If you ever have the chance to see a performance by these amazing artists, take it. Honestly one of the most memorable musical experiences I've ever been lucky enough to have.

[@WGBHMusic]

NPR expanding horizons... Good stuff.

[@letiekllib]

At minute 1:35 Debashish raises his hand and transfers the musical power of the universe to his daughter. Our hearts soar! Music really can make the world a better place. bk

[@GetUpTheMountains]

Tabla player looks fly with them shades on. Great performance all around!

[@Nathankaye]

He's been one of my slide guitar heroes for about 17 years (too) actually. What a stunning performance & wonderful to see how talented his daughter and brother are too! They all exude pure music mastery...

[@stevehurl298]

Mr. Bhattacharya is one of the premier musicians on planet Earth. His nuance and expression with his steel bar are super-human, and it's all in service of the music. And this is music that takes the sustained concentration and thorough training required of the most difficult European classical forms. And then there's his improvisational ability-- tune in at 10:12 for a good blast of that. He has a 2015 release called "Slide Guitar Ragas From Dusk 'Till Dawn." The performances on that record are fantastic.

[@lavenderinjune]

This sounds like so much fun! I love the way their eyes smile at each other and at the beautiful music they make. So full of enjoyment, how beautiful!

[@nicholaspearson4246]

Indian classical music is an ecstatic art form whose goal is to produce elevated states of consciousness associated with an aesthetic system based on nine rasas (tastes) The ultimate goal is to produce a state called ananda, which means transcendent bliss.

[@specialcharactersgilesdick8876]

He's been one of my favorite musicians for a long time, but I will say that I do believe that the drummer is as high as Air Force One.

[@shnootch]

despite the aviator shades, i'd say he's very on, and if high, that'd be the result of being very present in the music. shit, i would be... high, that is (if i was that present, and capable)

[@57tele]

I know the family very well. Geniuses all. And Subhasis is high only on the great sound.

[@TEOALandfriends]

That lady's got mad bars!

[@bluntobjct]

awesome how she counts the pulses on her fingertips.

[@paxdriver]

Terrific instrumentals at 9:00 - 11:30, excellent music all around. Very good singer too

[@SSA09]

Man I've seen him live in 2014 and he was dope. Long live Indian classical music

[@McLainCausey]

I love the effortless joy with which Debashish channels such transcendent beauty.

[@UfirstcoachingUK]

'Let's not wait another 16 yrs!' Truely...Thanks NPR music!

[@willceurvels]

the daughter also seems really talented, I'm no hindustani expert, but loved hearing her sing the swara on the first song.

[@skeenj]

LOVE, actually. thanks NPR for sharing one of my favorite musicians with more of the western world. The Battacharya crew is SO incredible!

[@oloobwemba]

So they are coming from paradise, is that? I like it so much, this is so high!

[@pageponpai]

Wonderful music & a delight to watch them. It wasn't so surprising to see that they are family ! Nice.

[@dwijveena]

Debashish; So heartfelt and well produced within the limitations of a tiny NPR studio. My joy is delighting in Anandi as her artistry blossoms and her joining with you and Subhasis on tour. Blessings from Sarasota.

[@Chilycasiperro.]

Son simplemente genios! Me emociona tanto su música♡ gracias por tanto amor

[@jonoheyesandbeehive]

love the unfolding and bliss that is transmitted...

[@digitalnobody74]

Debashish => the Indian Jimi Hendrix on holy spirit steroids!! It does not get better then him for me. The master.

[@letiekllib]

The complexity barely comprehensible to Western ears. My humble friends Debashish, Subhashish and Debashish's daughter. Stand musically tall and proud, my heart soars when I hear your musique' billkeitel

[@partgee]

Outstanding music, so elevating.....

[@SummerStreetRecords]

Amazing...Absolutely Beautiful Performance!

[@bungle0261]

incredible. ... first heard him on the album with Bob brozman... beautiful timeless stuff. .

[@davidjenkins4714]

Astoundingly Beautiful!

[@letiekllib]

Minute 1:39 evokes all the love and beauty of the universe.

[@MoncurElectric]

Incredible music! The unison at 12:55 is thrilling.

[@anaphylastiks]

Hard for a father not to cry tears of joy.

[@hhgygy]

Great music. I saw Mr. Debashish Bhattacharya performing in Budapest, Hungary. Would be great to see him again perhaps performing with his daughter. What a talent she has.

[@randalldickson4603]

What a beautiful voice!

[@FesterWerks]

Fantastic weaving of sounds. So intricate.

[@SledgeStarFighter]

The dude with the sunglasses and bongos is a fucking boss.

[@2standard]

I agree. But they're tablas, not bongo drums.

[@PraveenSawh]

Bongos lol

[@bipashadehariya7132]

His name is Subhasish Bhattacharya

[@dustinsaidtoney2547]

Yeah, homie is highly gangster👍

[@mithilaum2814]

tabla

[@DannyAronson]

Blows my mind

[@anaphylastiks]

The drummer is just amazing, and I have heard some tablaa. The prediction and follow of well intertwined musicians is something many very intelligent people can not figure out at all. I call it the beauty.

[@fwzzybird]

Thanks for introducing me to this amazing music!

[@stallionstudios]

Guitar world brought me here!!

[@ananya1786]

I absolutely love it, been listening to everyday all day since a week....

[@UrielFlores-vd3kz]

This is so beautiful

[@maciasl6921]

You guys rock!!

[@louisconnelly309]

So cool, more Indian music please!

Her singing is... wow.

[@TreavorUnion]

Um this is some good stuff. I feel like my brain just went to another dimension.

[@letiekllib]

IT DID!

[@greanmeenies]

This rocks! Thanks NPR.

[@arunkumarganguly9933]

Darun Jugalbandi awesome performance in Guitar apurbo laaglo 🙏🙏

[@mitchumsport]

it is beautiful

[@anthonyetemadi7975]

When tne percussion comes in is amazing..

[@brianpragereduchannel464]

SO beautiful!!

[@uvg319]

😁...surprised to hear khamaj on NPR..😁👍👍👍

[@Christophe_L]

Wow this tickled my brain in places that hadn't been in a while! How can I find more music like this?

[@Robilbo]

You can try Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ¡

[@UfirstcoachingUK]

Try Rahul Sharma, Karsh Kale, Papon(coke studio MTV India), V M Bhatt's album "A meeting by the river'. That will give you a good start! Like your comment! :-)

[@wanderingwolf9547]

Get 'Beyond the Ragasphere' by Debashish.

[@Christophe_L]

Cheers!

[@Purpadurpolis]

+Christophe L Check out a band called Shakti with a guitar player named Lohn McLaughlin...

[@mishantonia]

perfect.....a wonderful find.

[@ianthegamer1712]

i never hit like just because I never care to but I had to for this. I love this even if I dont understand the language.

[@RobHutten]

If it's helpful, I think she's singing the hindustani version of solfege, i.e. "do re me fa..." etc. Unless I'm mistaken, there's no actual lyrics in the first song. Maybe someone who speaks Hindi can correct me...

[@ctchrisf]

Wow this is fun.

[@esohedicho]

qué bonito..!

[@jibonevdr9946]

awesome

[@mintoo2cool]

wow! this was great!

[@manofTao]

Vaa.. Awesome !...

[@oneworldproduction]

Truly amazing

[@01ayaana]

Scat...Indian style.

[@curtmooredrums]

Beatuful

[@charlenedyer2387]

Impressive!

[@stephendelacruzone]

Beautiful... :)

[@robertbulterman1677]

what singing!!!

[@leoded]

one of the greatest vids on KZbin. what's the name of the lady who sings like an angel from the skies? seems, that you wrote so much in the "About", and forgot such a talented musician? not to mention she is so beautiful.

[@leoded]

+Oded Avraham Her name is Anandi Bhattacharya, and i think i am in love.

[@57tele]

Yes, it's Debashish's daugher.

[@niborracho127]

Ole ese flamenco

[@kanagiri123]

WOW!

[@simachakraborty4734]

wonderful !,,

[@opartos]

I think the indian style slide guitar wasn't invented by Debashish. Brij Bhushan Kabra was probably the one who popularised guitar and Hawaiian slide guitar in hindustani classical. However Debashish invented the chaturangui, which is a variation of the slide guitar he is using in this video.

[@Parmar2394]

Beautiful

[@fabiobarbati6029]

lovely!

[@sakonlawatkhetboon9999]

India classical is awalys the magic touch sound....

[@itsthatguyphil]

I am curious what the finger twitching during singing is. Is it a means to keep the correct rhythm? Is it counting off for the verses?

[@konekumar5260]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@bakhan14]

*masterpiece*

[@Snoopysnowconemaker]

Finding my chill...

[@AIR23SAM]

Cool

[@Lele0Live]

Fucking Amazing, pardon my french

[@raghav012345]

haathon mein bindiyaan, maathon pe gajara? :-/ That goofup aside, lovely!

[@itwashimmusic]

I legitimately have no idea how this comment makes me feel. Inferior (from lack of knowledge)? Yes. Superior (from lack of pedantry)? Also yes. So, I guess, you win the internet today! Well done.

[@raghav012345]

Christopher Joseph Or you can ask: care to explain? For a native speaker of the language (Hindi), getting that line wrong (twice) seems off. Is it nit picking to point this out: No offence but I'm afraid you really can't be the best judge of that. But the music is lovely, and there is a large collection of other hindustani classical music on youtube if you enjoy this: we're all winners.

[@UfirstcoachingUK]

Well spotted Raghav! She seems to think for a brief moment before the words. Only noticed after your comments! :-) But watched them live yesterday- mind blowing! Hats off!

[@askaichin]

@@raghav012345 haha true true, but I am wondering how much of this might be because she is young and perhaps a non native Hindi speaker. Like a lot of Western classical operas are in Italian, the language of Hindustani is Braj and other Hindi Dialects, while a whole lot of the classical musicians are Bengalis or Marathis etc, so that perhaps!

[@sandrosadhukhan]

​@@askaichinabsolutely right you are!

[@ferruhsaym411]

harika

[@EndOfEntertainment]

Cool stuff :)

[@kurd55]

Super scat on steroids! O_O

[@dfiction]

this is like the only good tiny desk concert!!!

[@KoopahNITE]

Talented family. O_O

[@prabhapawan]

What is name of first raag ?

[@JTubella]

I feel like im playing in the desert area in Super Mario 64

[@lauraguevara5884]

Jorge Tubella rr

[@lauraguevara5884]

Jorge Tubella y

[@thomaskeating1851]

Tabla's

[@clubwrxchile8190]

1:25 is that Ringo behind her?

[@randalldickson4603]

Get that man a Dobro!

[@SSA09]

Tabla guy is stoned af...

[@rayanrahul213]

Would like some of his stuff

[@MacDudeUT]

@@santoor_naad Subashish is not blind. He is super nice and extremely talented.

[@FloydManFloyd]

smile sessions in the background! wtf :)

[@soufienkhalfaoui7593]

Lil' Wayne on tabla ladies and gentlemen...

[@thomaskeating1851]

Haha they aren't bongos the are tables but I agree. Boss.

[@shnootch]

so the tamburaish drone is a recording, correct?

[@57tele]

It's either or a an electronic sruti box or more likely nowadays, a phone/tablet app. The occasional twangy harp sound is from the sympathetic strings on the guitar.

[@shnootch]

57tele sure, was clear about those sympathetic strings. What is a snuff box, exactly?

[@57tele]

sruti box (assume you got autocorrected to "snuff"). Don't really know how they operate, but they're just an electronic device that plays the drone tones more traditionally played by the acoustic instrument called a tambura/tanpuri. Some players still seem to prefer them over the phone apps when not using traditional tambura.

[@shnootch]

57tele actually I misread (That's kinda funny). Thanks... think I've seen one of these, from a distance. Curious about how that drone sound is generated. A product of India, I suppose...

[@57tele]

I honestly wasn't sure myself, so looked it up --apparently the early ones generated the sounds using transistors, then were replaced by digital samples. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_tanpura As I said, phone apps are really more common now.

[@ananya1786]

What form of music is this? Means in Classical? What form is this?

[@karanmhta]

It's an Indian Classical Raga

[@ethandorsett4895]

Didn’t know Lou reed played tabla

[@raysaikat]

khamaj.

[@mohammedyawar3016]

The guy with the glasses on looks funny:@

[@DifferentWayDown]

This is the most frustrating thing I've ever tried to listen to. gahhh