'Enormous market for music in India'

ThinkStock Photos (For representational purpose only)

Jodhpur: Scotland-based saxophonist and composer Brian Molley, who has collaborated with Rajasthani folk artistes for a yet-to-be titled music album, feels there is a huge market for music in India.

"I hope that this album is liked by the Indian audience as much as we enjoyed making it. I got a great response from the audience when I performed (with his band Brian Molley Quartet) at RIFF (Rajasthan International Folk Festival) 2016 on Friday... which is great and positive. There is an enormous market for music in India."

"From classical, folk to even Bollywood, everything is a big part of the culture here. I am just trying to be open minded as I can when I make music here. It's a vital thing to be a musician and be open minded as there are many things that you can learn," he told IANS on the sidelines of the festival that is currently taking place at Mehrangarh Fort here.

The album, which he made with Rajasthani folk artistes, comprises jazz, world music and Rajasthani folk and it has been tentatively titled "Journeys in Hand", personifying the collaboration of the musicians from the two countries. The album will release next year.

Talking about his experience working with these musicians, he said: "The one thing I really like about folk musicians whom I met is that they are very open minded, which is really great, especially when you are from different music backgrounds. Rajasthani folk music is great, it's such an incredible form of music."

Molley also says he is trying to bring possibility of wider things that one can do with these art forms to preserve them for future.

"We try and develop the possibility of that music with these collaborations and to preserve it. We are looking forward to come up with more ideas on how we can mix it well with many other associations," he said.

Since 2012, Molley is performing with his band members -- Tom Gibbs on piano, Mario Caribe on bass and Stuart Brown on drums. In spring 2013, the band recorded their debut album "CLOCK (BGMM)", which released to critical acclaim in October that year.

In 2014, the quartet made appearances at Glasgow and Manchester Jazz Festivals and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the prestigious Creative Scotland curated 'Made in Scotland' programme, in addition to an extensive Britain tour in autumn.

Brian Molley Quartet performed at RIFF for the first time in October 2015.

"We did perform at RIFF last year and that was the time we took a short tour of India as a band. This was the time when we learnt some of their (folk artistes) music in the practical sense. There are specific things about Rajasthani music and rhythmic structure, which is amazing," he said.

"We were very clear of making things open enough and bring some sort of elements of harmony and development through this album," he said.