This is a companion piece to the "Remember Shakti: Four people as one" story. Please refer to that article for comprehensive contextual, biographical and historical information related to this interview.

Why do you think there’s been such an enduring interest in Shakti’s music?

Why is there still an interest in the Beatles or Rolling Stones? There’s something magical about certain people coming together and linking on whole levels of communication, whether that’s through music, mind, heart or emotions. Shakti was such a group that made that connection. You could see it when you watched the band play—they were totally connected. They were operating as one. They were not four people, but one person. I guess that brings incredible amounts of positive feelings and vibrations into one’s music and that is something that lasts.

John said the group was very dimly viewed upon its debut.

What happens is sometimes you have a vision and an urge to go forward and do something unique at a time when people are still tied to what is, as opposed to what should be or what can be. One must also realize that John had just disconnected himself from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a very, very commercially popular group. In many ways, John made the big sacrifice because he lost a lot of fans who were into his electrical experience and they faded away. Another reason John probably said that is because the record companies and promotional companies had no idea what to call Shakti, which category of music it fit into, or which bin in the record shop to put it in. So they looked at it with a great amount of hesitancy. But I guess they've been proven wrong because Shakti has endured.

How much easier is it for Remember Shakti to operate in 1999 compared to the original group’s circumstances in 1975?

I think concert-goers have a much greater awareness of traditional music from all over the planet. It is more evident than ever before. The tastes of music listeners are so varied these days. They listen to everything from techno to rock to jazz to Indian to world to all kinds of stuff. It’s amazing to see people being so open-minded and panoramic in their vision these days. Therefore, a group like Shakti is just the ticket for a lot of people. The record is doing reasonably well and the concerts are selling out wherever we play. The response has been so incredible. There’s great love and affection from the people to us. It’s incredible and amazing, even though this group does not resemble the old Shakti. It’s a different sort of group and in some ways a step forward to hopefully a next level of musical coordination and composition.

What role do you believe Shakti played in cultivating a greater acceptance of world music?

Indian musicians became much more open after Shakti towards the idea of trying things not only within the realms of Indian music but by stepping out of Indian music and into any traditions they felt comfortable with. Shakti was one of the first combinations of musicians trying to do something that crossed all musical boundaries. We didn't approach each other thinking "Okay, you play South Indian, I play North Indian and he'll play jazz, then see what happens." We just jumped into the wagon and took a ride together. It was four people as one. We were very young at that time and had no qualms about trying different things. We just sat down and played and did whatever was necessary to make it work musically and be fun. It was something unique at that time. Previously, when people from different cultures made music, one or the other music was crossing over and never meeting somewhere in between. For instance, if Yehudi Menuhin played with Ravi Shankar, Menuhin had to cross over into the Indian territory to play Indian classical music written for him by Shankar. It was never a combination of classical music and Indian classical music together. There were reasons for that. They were great traditionalists who believed they had to maintain their traditions.

Did Shakti encounter any negative racial perceptions in its early days?

As far as the musical fraternity is concerned, there is no lord and master perception—student stuff aside. There are no issues of "who’s who and therefore what and how" and that kind of thing. As far as the fraternity was concerned, everybody was a colleague and friend—a person you’re going to jam with. Of course, there are greats like Ravi Shankar, John McLaughlin and Van Morrison. But I never felt that I was an inferior person. They treated me as one of the pack—one of the people they are working with. We played for two years in just about every jazz festival you could imagine anywhere on the planet. We traveled extensively and we were playing alongside groups like Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, the George Duke Band and Keith Jarrett. We were never considered a band that was an outsider. So there weren’t any racial problems as far as I’m concerned.

Your father [tabla great Ustad Allarakha] wasn’t thrilled about you joining Shakti. In 1987, he told Folk Roots magazine "Shakti was not Indian Music, it was not American music. They made something else. Some numbers I like, some numbers I don’t like. Zakir, I told him not to do that."

In the beginning, he did have problems with it. He felt I had to make my name as an Indian musician before anything else was to happen. As a teacher, he was worried that I would drift to the other side of the world and sever my connection with India. I convinced him that will not be and then proved that through my actions and it was fine. My deal with him was "Okay, I am going to play Indian classical music and I will travel to India regularly and play concerts there and have the audience accept me as an Indian classical musician. On my own time, I am going to do what I enjoy doing apart from Indian music." Even now, 80 percent of the time I am performing Indian classical music. It is rare that I get involved in playing anything else.

Was his initial response surprising given the fact that he’s worked with Elvin Jones and Buddy Rich?

He had already proved himself as an Indian classical musician. He had been playing for 50-odd years and had already been accepted as one of the greats. So, for him to interact with somebody posed no danger to him as far as losing his identity. For me, as a young musician of 19 or 20, there was more of a danger of that.

How has the chemistry between you and John evolved over the years?

When I play with John, it's not like playing with a Western musician. It's like playing with an Indian musician believe it or not. John has taken the time to study Indian classical music and figure out how we work, how we think and what our improvising techniques are. Myself, I have had the good fortune to study and understand the Western ways of musical thinking be it jazz, pop or rock. In terms of musical interaction with John, it’s a bit more detailed now than before, but the same love and affection for one another is there. The fabulous thing is that connection hasn't changed. I never feel like I'm working with someone strange from a different tradition and he doesn't feel that way either.

Innerviews recently talked to Bill Laswell. Here’s what he said about you: "Zakir is quite willing to sit down and play with a click track or tape loop and laugh about it. It’s very inspiring. He could afford to have an attitude where that means nothing to him because he's above it—like people who are lesser than him musically that have an attitude."

I think that’s the way it is. From the very beginning, my relationship with music other than Indian music has always been adventurous. There was enough of a connection to my roots that there was little danger of me being overwhelmed by what I saw in the world. Therefore, I felt I could bend and work myself into any kind of music and play with any kind of people. For instance, when I work with Mickey [Hart], he will try anything including throwing metal onto the ground and recording that or building a fire on a farm and putting a microphone there to hear how it crackles. He'll also record a drum playing at one end of a tube with a mic at the other end 500 metres away to see what kind of a sound projection it has. It's only by being open to all kinds of things and sometimes taking risks that you can really discover what is out there.

What can you tell me about Tabla Beat Science, the new album you’re working on with Laswell and Talvin Singh?

It’s an eclectically electric, jungle-oriented project that uses organic instruments as principal voices. It’s a major look into how techno and electronics can be a mode of expressing what organic instruments can do. I am hoping that idea is firmly planted in Bill’s head and that he will guide us through that well. I have complete trust in Bill’s vision and his ear. He is always going to make the best use of what I do. That much I am aware of.

What do you make of Talvin Singh’s tabla-meets-techno experiments?

Talvin is an extremely talented human being and a man with a very, very thinking mind. I think he has single-handedly created a large demand for the kind of stuff he comes up with. He’s also a very fine tabla player. Having that rhythmic background, as well as his inroads into creative music through synthetics is very good. I really enjoy what he does.

Tabla is no longer the fringe instrument it once was. It’s all over the place in 1999 including hit pop songs, television commercials and even HipHop.

I’m elated. I’m happy that’s happened. Now, I don’t have to explain to people what tabla is. That makes my job easier as a performer. People used to relate to India through the sound of the sitar. Now it’s not that. Now, it’s the sound of Nusrat’s voice or tabla. People know there is more to the sounds of India than just the sitar and that makes me feel really good. Somehow, it has gotten to the point where the sound is not only recognizable, but also in a lot of demand.

Why do you believe that’s happened?

I guess there are some very, very fine tabla players now and a lot of well-known percussionists who play and really relate to this instrument. People like Trilok Gurtu, a fabulous jazz percussionist have a lot to do with it. So has Talvin Singh lately. In my own way, I’ve contributed. It’s just an instrument that has caught on. It’s tabla’s turn at the moment.

Describe your motivation for creating Moment Records in 1994.

Moment records wasn’t founded to do my music, but Indian music in general. When you do a record for any record company, you go to a studio, do the recording, deliver the tape and then you see it in the store. Between the delivery of the tape and getting it in the store, musicians really have no say in what happens with the album cover, what’s in the liner notes or how the master mixdown sounds. I felt there needed to be a company that can provide a platform to Indian musicians so they can have control over what their product is like and have it appear simultaneously in all major record stores all over the world.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced running the label?

It’s difficult to convince distributors and sales representatives to go out and sell our products in the shops and make them understand that they are worth putting in the bins. To a certain extent, my name helps sell them and makes it possible, but it is hard work and hard going. Today’s focus on world music and therefore on Indian music, means it is becoming a little easier. We are also doing products which are more musically acceptable like George Brooks, Masters of Percussion and Ravi Shankar. They give visibility to the company and help establish that these are products of very high quality.

What keeps your interest alive in Indian classical music given all of the musics you’re exposed to?

Adventure, learning and finding out more. I'm still learning Indian classical music. I still sit with my father and study whenever I'm in India. And every time I play with a new Indian classical musician, there's more to learn. There are as many expressions as there are musicians, so it's learning time no matter what. So, that is what I am—a student driven to make more and more discoveries.