“People ask me what I do and I say I am a producer, a composer, a mixer… But really, I am a technologist,” says Carmen Rizzo, flashing a disarming smile. The Grammy-nominated, Los Angles-based artiste, who has worked with music giants such as Seal, Coldplay, Alanis Morissette, Khaled among others, is in Chennai for a dual purpose. “I was invited to teach at KM Music Conservatory. So I selfishly arranged the trip here to coincide with the Covelong Surf Music Yoga Festival,” he grins, as we walk away from the energetic crowds of the festival, in search of a quieter place to talk.
Inspired by the world
Carmen ‘technologist’ Rizzo has been in the electronic music scene, mixing records, since he was 19. At 55, he now looks back at being fortunate enough to re/mix and work on the tracks of legends such as Micahel Jackson, Ray Charles and Prince. And through all these years, his ethos of experimenting with different sounds has remained with him.
Explaining his collaboration with folk singers from different parts of the world, Carmen says, “What I try to do is create a sombre, lush bed of electronics with a lot of space that complements the classical instruments.” His search for good music has led him to Gaza, Kazakhstan, and Russia. “I’m a big fan of unusual music, I seek out good musicians and projects from all over the world. I firmly believe there is good music everywhere, not just in big popular cities.”
Following that same principle, he has recorded tracks and toured with Huun-Huur-Tu, a music group from Tuva, the Russian republic, situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. He gives their trademark throat singing (a technique in which the singers produce two or three notes simultaneously) an ambient bed of electronics, that reinforce the atmosphere of the song.
“It’s not easy to mix electronics with folk music; many people have tried it before. But I like to think I am bringing some good parts of the West to the East, while still being respectful of their origins,” he says.
Carmen had also co-founded the musical group Niyaz in 2004 to mix Sufi music, blending poetry and folk songs from Iran with modern-day electronics and trance. “I met Azam Ali in Los Angeles, and we started the band together along with her husband Loga Ramin Torkian. Even though she is Iranian, she was actually raised in India for quite a bit of her life, as it can be difficult being from the Baha’i fiaith n Iran. So she has a lot of Indian influences in her music.”
After 10 years with Niyaz, Carmen moved on to other projects, working on Karavan Sarai, an electro-acoustic group with West Asian sounds, and Libella, an ambient music project with Joel Shearer. However, it was as part of Niyaz that Carmen first visited Delhi in India. Here in Chennai, he is collaborating with Vanraj, a sarangi player from Mumbai whom he first met online and then at the Covelong festival.
“You need to find the right classical musicians, who would collaborate with electronic music well. Usually, in electronica, there’s reference to time and a grid, and not all players are used to playing to regimented time like that,” he says. Another major factor is the kind of instrument used. “Instruments like tabla , sarangi , oud and saz [ a Turkish stringed instrument popularly known as Bağlama] work well. But frame drums or certain Middle Eastern wind instruments don’t. They’re beautiful, but they can take up a lot of space, leaving no room for other sounds,” he says.
Confessing that he wouldn’t call himself a great musician, he re-emphasises the importance of the good technology he brings into the music scene. “The opportunities I have had were not only because of my ears, but because I have always been embracing new technology. I want to show that electronics is more than a tool; it is a musical instrument.”
Published - August 28, 2019 04:51 pm IST
