Lehera & Sarah Buechi

Lehera, defines its music this way: “The root element of Lehera is classical music, mixed with funk and progressive jazz: sometimes to bring in a sense of adventure, funky songs with odd-rhythmic cycles are thrown in.” Refreshingly packaged, the breezy, foot-tapping sound of two guitars — Spanish and Hawaiian slide guitar, ghatam and vocals is Lehera’s hallmark.
Classical elements are fused into Western lyrics in which the seamless transition from one acoustic chapter to another creates a beautiful story that flows with depth and character.
The tracks are catchy yet intellectually stimulating: overall well thought out aesthetic music.
The genesis
Lehera was formed with the synergies of Hindustani classical Hawaiian guitar/violin artiste Prakash Sontakke, Carnatic classical percussionist Kartik Subramanya and Canadian guitarist/flautist/vocalist Prashant Michael John.

John has studied Carnatic theory and rhythm with K. Rajarangan, and at the Madras Music Academy in Chennai and Jazz music from teachers from the Berklee School of Music.
What was the motivation behind Lehera? “Once I heard the variety of melody and rhythm that exist in the different cultures of the world — not to mention timbres and textures, I was hooked and took in as much as I could find. Cross-cultural world music is my expression,” says the well-travelled Prashant who plays the Spanish guitar, the flute and also does vocals.
Prakash, who plays Hindustani style slide guitar, violin and does vocals too, simply puts it as, “I love to experiment; I believe the richness of the classical tradition has shown the path for fusion.”
Describing their coming-together as “natural and organic process”, Prashant speaks of how his path crossed with these two musicians, when he was in Bangalore.
“I resonated with them both musically and personally, and we decided to record a demo CD that would perhaps offer listeners another original and joyful approach to ‘world music’, he cheers.
Kartik explains that the way Lehera’s instruments complimented each other was an instant attraction for him, while Prakash wanted to come up with a new world sound.
Fusion seems to have become a buzzword to any mish-mash of sounds; so how relevant is Lehera’s fusion in the current day context?
Beyond traditions
“Traditional forms are the foundation and inspiration for crossgenre/cultural music. I greatly admire and love them in their original intention,” explains Prashant.
“I think if one loves music then one will want to investigate and celebrate the common ground and uniqueness found in different music.
“To me this is a way of going beyond the confines of traditions and embracing the world; ultimately we may realize that the world is one big family — the differences we make between people/music are only because of our own limited awareness,” reflects Prashant.
Staying with that thought, Prakash adds that the introduction of folk instruments into classical music is, in itself a kind of fusion. Quoting early experiments with fusion, he explains that Pt.Omkarnath Thakur sang Arpeggios (splitting chords in melodic way) in his famous Jogi Mat Ja; he feels that many more such examples exist in classical music, where traditional has given birth to novel styles and patterns.
How does Lehera set itself apart from other bands/fusion attempts or other such efforts?
“When I first asked Prakash whom we should choose as our percussionist his reason for choosing Karthik convinced me that we were all on the same page.

“Karthik plays originally tailored beats to fit our contemporary, cross cultural/genre compositions rather than simply superimpose standard beats and rhythmic cycles — which it seems to me is the bane of the current ‘fusion’ trend’, reflects Prashant Michael John.

Prakash says, “Basic sound quality is very acoustic and natural — two guitars and a Ghatam were chosen to keep the purity of sound. We consciously kept away from using electronic sounds.” - The Deccan Herald

“[Lehera] …has given fusion a different dimension, mixing classical [Indian] with funk and jazz.”  - The Deccan Herald, India.
“I firmly believe in the Lehera project. It has a lot of energy and is well played!”– Dave King, bassist ( Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby McFerrin, Laurie Anderson, Jimmy Smith, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner Billy Cobham, Elton John etc).
“Though the artists are from different traditions, their performance was unique and outstanding”  - Ms. Ramamani, Karnataka College of Percussion.
“The band has expertly blended everything from konnakol to blues and jazz guitaring to vocal harmonics”  - The Hindu, Bangalore.
“WOW! I love it!!I played it three times in a row.”?Diana Stewart-Imbert, Artistic Director, Vancouver World Music Collectives
“The music has the rigorous qualities of classical music and is also marked with the liberties that make up funk, folk and modern music.” Joyce Janvier-Gagnon, Radio Canada - from various resources

excerpt:
Lehera brings to the table a unique sound born out of a confluence of Hindustani, Western and Carnatic music styles Possibly one of the best side effects of globalisation is that art and artistes cannot survive in isolated microcosms independent of each other. One needn't even look far for proof of the pudding: a number of bands in our own city draw inspiration from a variety of musical styles, bending the rules and escaping definition. And thus you have Lehera that not only fuses Hindustani and Western musical styles, but also throws in some Carnatic percussion for good measure.??Instant connection???It all started when Indo-Canadian acoustic guitarist Prashant Michael John was referred to Hindustani Hawaiian slide guitarist Prakash Sontakke while on a visit to the country. The two met, spoke and played music to each other, and within hours of meeting, felt as if "we had known each other musically for years. I could complement everything Prashant did in Hindustani, without distorting any of it," says Prakash. Then came the question of a percussionist. As both guitarists prefer to perform on acoustic instruments — the Spanish guitar and the Hawaiian slide guitar — neither was keen on a Western percussionist with a complicated, electric set up. The natural choice, therefore, was a close friend and Carnatic percussionist, Karthik Subramanium. "He was the first choice because his knowledge of his own system of music is good, but he always works with a free mind."??The choice of band name, says Prakash, was aimed at conveying the variety and range that the three musicians brought to the band. Lehera, explains Prakash, is derived from the word leher meaning "waves". "Every wave is a fresh one, and each one brings something fresh to the shore." He adds that it also has a second meaning of a melodic, rhythmic tempo loop maintained during a kathak performance. "We wanted to convey the fact that we are trying to combine the technical beauty of Western music with the melodic charm of Hindustani music and the rhythmic intricacies of Carnatic music," he says. - The Hindu Metro Plus Bangalore

Lehera is an inspired project established by acoustic guitarist/Indian flutist Prashant Michael John with Hindustani slide-guitarist Prakash Sontakke and ghatam (clay pot instrument) percussionist Karthik Subramanya.

Mostly contemporary Indian music lead the structured improvisations, instrumentals and a few songs based upon raga-based classical Indian music techniques, while the acoustic guitarist makes western pickings, or plays jazzy and bluesy rhythmic guitar parts, occasionally and only for a few accents in a slightly funky way or Indian styling, or repeating an Indian theme, where the slide guitars fuses too but remains in the Indian part most often. There are three English songs too, of which “Into The Blue” might recall Led Zeppelin a bit, fused with Indian ideas, while the “Collateral Damage” used some electric bass too, blending the commonly used styles even more. “Mid Morning Dream” with Dave King on bass adds even a small element of rock to the combinations. A great professional album adding a personal vision to the contemporary classical music’s foundations.
- Psychevanhetfolk