HERALD CAFÉ: How was it playing in the Kolkata edition of
Sur Jahan earlier this week?
ELLIKA SOLO RAFAEL: It was phenomenal to listen to other
musicians and be a part of a fantastic festival that is unique. You
(the Indian musicians) are obviously taking care of the Indian
tradition and it was fantastic to hear from the different regions
– from West Bengal, Punjabi, etc. Meeting other musicians,
you learn a lot. People in India are so polite. In the West, they
think that India only has classical music and they consider it
as folk music because it is not Western Classical music. They
don’t realise that there are other genres of music that exist here.
It was a good experience meeting and interacting with folk
musicians from India.
HC: How would you best describe your music?
ESR: The music is between the three of us. We let the music
breathe and let the music decide. We never ‘try’ to make
a fusion or mix things together. Each of us is playing our
tradition because we all have learnt from our teachers who,
coincidentally, have been our respective fathers. A major
ingredient in our music is our love for music. It is important to
have big ears and, in my opinion, not to be academic but to
bring your tradition and to be able to combine everything. If
you’re very schooled then you’ll meet a barrier, which is not
good for your growth as a musician.
HC: You are a well-known folk musician from Sweden. From
your experience with folk musicians from other parts of the
world, do you find anything common?
ESR: Yes, nearly everything. That is how we work. Instead of
looking at the differences, we can find so many things that
are similar. It is like a common language that we all have.
When I met Solo the first time, we could not speak with each
other. We met just ten minutes before a concert that we two
were performing at. We ended up jamming up for 45 minutes
straight.
HC: How did the process of teaming up with Rafael happen?
ELLIKA: In my memory, when we first pitched the idea to
Rafael of teaming up with us, he said, “I do not know what to
put in here because you are already full.” To which I said, “We
know what you can put in.”
RAFAEL: Initially it was a little difficult to find my identity in
the trio but then I heard the music of Ellika and Solo and
mixed them together, taking turns separating Solo from Ellika
and Ellika from Solo and contributing with my music to fuse
everything.
HC: Because of Solo’s health condition, you guys had to take
a break. How long was the break? What was the feeling then?
ESR: The break was for about a year. We were hoping and
praying for Solo’s recovery. We played in Stockholm at the
Culture Festival last year and the week after that we were
supposed to go on a tour to Luxembourg and India, and then it
stopped abruptly. After a few months, we met and Solo could
barely see and was very sick.
SOLO: The health is of paramount importance. You may be a
multi millionaire but if you do not have sound health, it is of
no use.
ELLIKA: When I first met him in 1998, within ten minutes of
meeting him (Solo), I had the feeling that this is a brother that I
would want to play with for the rest of my life. Thankfully, Solo
is feeling better now and we are back to performing.
