The Fusion Project’s Rushil Ranjan tells Tim Hughes why their Sheldonian concert will appeal to devotees of Indian and Western music

It’s the ultimate fusion of East and West; taking ancient Indian classical music and slamming them into tunes by Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Adele.

Fuelled by a shared love of eastern culture and art, Oxford town and gown musical collective, The Fusion Project has ignited interest way beyond the college quads, where the idea was born.

That project culminates tomorrow, in a performance at the Sheldonian Theatre –the first show of its kind to take place in the prestigious venue.

Led by singer, guitarist and Trinity College law graduate Rushil Ranjan, the project sees a group of virtuoso Oxford musicians playing traditional Pakistani and Indian instruments, performing a mix of originals, covers and translations of western songs.

Rushil is joined by Praveen Prathapan (Indian classical flute), Joshua Rigal (bass), Janan Sathiendran (tabla and percussion) Dhruv Sarma (Hindustani vocals) Krishnaprasad KV (Carnatic vocals), Christopher Howland (cello), Amanda Colman (vocals ) and Ben Patel (clarinet).

In just 10 months they’ve gone from playing the front room of friends’ homes to supporting Pakistani artist, and Bollywood singer, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – nephew of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, playing alongside Raghu Dixit in London, and performing at last weekend’s Oxfam’s Oxjam Oxford Takeover, in East Oxford.

The Sheldonian show is being facilitated by Oli Steadman’s Tigmus (This Is Good Music) organisation.

Oli’s own band, Stornoway, made history by performing the first pop concert in the same venue.

“For newcomers, the best way for me to describe it is as an introduction to the world of Indian and Sufi Music through the medium of Western songwriting,” says Rushil.

“I guess our central aim is to make the ragas and rhythms of Indian classical music accessible by basing it around traditional Western songwriting.

“We differentiate ourselves from other fusion acts by making sure that we put an equal emphasis on keeping all the traditional elements of classical music alive, as well as making sure that it always is accessible.

“What that usually translates into, is you hearing south Indian Carnatic singing and north Indian and Pakistani tabla drums played on top tracks from Western rock and pop artists.

“As a listener, I guess it can be quite overwhelming, hearing Indian classical music for the first time.

“The western pop element acts as a point of familiarity or a gateway to understanding it.”

He goes on: “It’s been a pretty amazing journey so far.

“The biggest highlight was this summer when we were picked up by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

“Given how much of a superstar he is, him taking us to play was pretty incredible.

“But there’s no doubt in my mind that this opportunity to play the Sheldonian is one of the coolest things the band has ever done.”

Support for the band comes from Voice UK contestant Abi Sampa.

“Aside from the venue being as beautiful and iconic as it is, it’s also a stage that, to my knowledge, has never hosted a show like this,” says Rushil.

“The only other non-western-classical group to play in there was Stornoway.

“The fact that a venue like that is taking on an Indian fusion band is incredible. It’s an amazing demonstration of just how incredibly open, integrated and diverse culture can be in Oxford.

“Indian classical music and Qawwali is coming together with Christopher Wren architecture. That in itself is kind of cool. It’s also really important to us as a band.

“I know when we first started, we had no idea where we’d be going. But I know a few of us, myself included, would walk past the Sheldonian and picture what it would be like to play in there.

“A lot of us have been in there for ceremonies but that only added to how much we actually wanted to play a show in there. It’s been a work in progress and somewhat of a dream come true to get the opportunity to play there.”

The show is not just a fusion of East and West, it is also a coming together of Town and Gown. “There’s always been a little bit of a division between the university and city,” says Rushil. “When I was at uni, we lived in a bubble and you had to go out of your way to connect with the town.

“It also extends across community lines. There are entirely separate south Asian communities within the university and the rest of the town. We’ve been lucky enough to have somewhat connected with both crowds. The dream is to bring people who are interested in this music together from both sides of Oxford. It’s a fairly ambitious goal but it’d be great if it came into fruition.

So what can we expect at the Sheldonian? “When we’re playing with a full line-up we’ve got over a dozen of us on stage,” says Rushil.

“In terms of eastern instrumentation we’ve got tabla drums, Bhansuri (Indian classical flute), Carnatic and Hindustani vocals and harmonium.

“From the Western side of things, we’ve got guitars, piano, bass, cello, clarinet, saxophone, as well as a few singers. There’ll be a few songs where the entire ensemble plays, but we also plan to have a few features that will really bring out the unique tone of the instrument or voice involved. People will hear tabla drums and Indian classical flute and singing, blended into some of their favourite tracks from artists such as Jimi Hendrix and even some Adele and Ed Sheeran.

“There’ll also be plenty of original material being played. We’ve also got some beautiful Indian classical dances done to some of the tracks, which is a feature that I’m really excited about.

“Finally, I think people can expect to see loads of improvisation.”

He adds: “There will be a lot that’s new but at the same time our aim has always been to keep this music accessible so that people who aren’t familiar with it can get into it.”

  • The Fusion Project is at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, tomorrow (Friday)
  • More details and tickets from tigmus.com