You started your career in 50’s, having completed four decades in this industry, where do you see the music scene in India heading?
I started my career in 1965 and now it’s been 43 years in the music industry. The entire music industry is suffering badly due to newer technologies like internet downloads, USB drives with thousands of songs preloaded, physical sales decline, rampant piracy which has ill effects on the music industry as a whole, not just in India. At places like the European countries, & United States the laws are effective and safeguard the interests of their artists. In India despite having copyright laws, they are not implemented. The laws are weak in our nation.
Who has been your inspiration?
Inspiration is within oneself and a belief of doing a good job. My work has always been my inspiration to do better every time with overwhelming responses from my audiences. I admired singers like Talat Mehmood & Mehdi Hasan, I used to sing their songs and adapted singing methods from them.
If you were to name best of your works, which would they be?
My first album release in 1976- “Unforgettable”, Mirza Galib, “Beyond Time”, “Sajda” with Lata Mangaeshkar & fifth would be rest of my work till date.
Apart from ghazals, you have made your mark in the devotional and Punjabi albums. If you were to pick one which is most fulfilling, what would it be?
Any ghazal or folk or devotional- if it is a good song, performance, recording it is fulfilling. It doesn’t matter what genre it belong to but it must be a good creation.
You have performed abroad many times. Which one was the greatest for you?
I used to perform before my official ghazal tour in 1976 but I won’t count that. This tour was to Kuwait & London, 178 I went to United States and after that there was no looking back. When I started my performances internationally it had very few audiences and with time today I cover almost three to five thousand audiences per concert. Important centers where I have always got full house are Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey, Dallas, Huston, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Dubai, Singapore etc. I am the only Indian ghazal singer who performed at Royal Opera House at Australia. People are looking for good melody, poetry, music and not noise on the stage. Few of the memorable performances were the 1982- Royal Albert Hall in London, Whemly centre, Dubai Conference centre & Singapore’s Esplanade.
Do you think the music labels are supportive of ghazals in the current scenario?
Music labels in India support anything that sells. If any artist whether it is devotional, bollywood, ghazals becomes a hit then will be signed. Music labels are a commercial house, they want to make money & survive; sometimes they promote new comers too. When I started my career as a newcomer in 1965’s was recording smalltime, I got my break in 1976- it was a ten year struggle to make an album and labels realize my potential. At our time the media was not that strong and how much one can promote oneself on an All India Radio and newspaper which was so expensive back then. Today the media is so strong, that overnight it can make you a star.
Ghazal singers are drifting away to performing more live, why don’t they come with more albums frequently?
Artists can’t make albums themselves; they need music companies to finance them. Music companies do not want to make albums and promote new ventures due to drop in physical sales. Live performances have always been are forefront, whether we have albums releasing or not.
Radio does not play much of ghazals, what is your take on it?
My complain against the radio stations and television channels is their non promotion of the art of ghazal singing. Only Vivid Bharati and Government television centre showcases ghazals at odd time slots. The mediums are so commercialized; they fail their responsibility towards promoting the ghazal genre.
With changing dynamics in the music business, does it affect your music?
I am 68 years old now, I have lived my years of music and I can retire tomorrow itself. I will work two or three more years as I am satisfied with my span in the music career and self growth as an artist. It will be very difficult for a new artist today to make it big.
Do you think contemporizing the only way to reach to the masses?
No, I don’t think so. There is no formula to reach the masses.
Do you think your voice suits the actors today?
My voice is supposed to be the best voice in the country. If my voice suits the actor or not, it’s headache of the film and music producers. My voice is a manly voice which shall suit any male actor who is manly. It will suit actors ranging from Dilip Kumar to Ranbir Kapoor today. I cannot sing the kind of songs which are made today having such poetry. They have commercialized it so are trying to make money out of vulgarity and uncultured elements. Lately the songs made have abusive words in them, what message are they trying to bring to the children? I feel very sorry seeing the state of songs today.
We have seen the pop and rock culture growing immensely with many new artists on the block. Why doesn’t that be so with the ghazal singers too?
We have always copied the west, whether it is good or bad. Only in few metros people know the pop and rock artists but if you go interiors like Jabalpur, people will know me and not bands like Euphoria. Few new ghazal singers are struggling but there is no promotion and platform for them. In bollywood an artist gets one song in the hit film, then gets signed with ten more films and shows but the scenario for ghazals is very poor. Ghazal singing is serious business to know poetry and music; any street walker can become a bollywood singer!
With blogs, websites, fan communities on the internet in place for many artists and composers- how does Jagjit Singh touch base with his music lovers and perceive the online platform?
I have a website which is operated by someone on my behalf. I am not in touch with my fans as I am not computer savvy and do not intent to waste my time on it. I interact with my fans at my concerts and spend time giving autographs and clicking snaps with them.
What is your take on the songs and compositions made today?
The music made today is senseless. There is no sense in poetry; music is readily available in the computer it only needs to be programmed. There is hardly any creative.
Earlier when movies were made it was almost mandatory to have a ghazal in them. But that does not happen now, why is it so?
The movies earlier had 90% ghazals in them; the old songs are based on the ghazal format. You name any song, “Jaane who kaise log the jinku pyar ko pyar mila”, “mohabbat hi jo na samje who zalim pyar kya jane”- are all based on ghazal form. To have ghazals in the movie it depends on the taste of the film maker, their background and culture and doesn’t even know the meaning of ghazal. The music director doesn’t sign artists, the film producer hirers a music contractor who doesn’t have anything to do with music who in turn assigns it to a music programmer. There is no source of creativity. Films are away from the Indian literature unlike olden days.
Are you approached by labels or movie producers to compose? When did you compose last?
Not lately, I left composing many years back. I was approached by a producer in L.A. “Leela” was my last composition five –six years back.
Do you think your popular with the youth today and form a connect with them?
You should find that out and do a survey to tell me.
You’re a versatile as you sing ghazals, folk and devotional with equal finesse. How has been the journey in devotional music for you?
I am a trained classical singer; I can sing any dam thing. Ghazal, devotional or folk singing, there is no difference- the common factor is singing, I like devotional music as I need not please anybody.
Do you think ghazals will fade away after your era of singers & we will have only your records to live on with?
There shall hardly be any ghazal singers as will have to live with my records. If I make place for new artist to enter, they might come up. I don’t stop anyone, just encourage them.
It’s been few years when last you came up with you album. When do we see your next album coming up?
“Inteha” is my latest album which was released six months back. I come up with albums every year. Last year I had twelve releases, out of which one was ghazal and eleven were devotional. Every music company wants me to sing devotional as they may find it a safe bet.
Where do we see ghazals 5 years down the line?
Five years later the future of ghazals seems shady. Ghazals will fade out. The language barrier as Urdu is not taught and promoted in India. Media should devote sometime for Indian traditional music like ghazal, bhajans etc. out of 24 hours a day even hours are devoted at the slots of family television watching, it might fill the void.
What message you would like to give our readers?
They should have a judgment for good and bad music should study the music well and opt for good music and not nonsense created.
