Ayaan Ali Bangash talks about the EP he made with ex-Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, his sarod maestro father and musician brother
Joe Walsh. Pic/Getty Images
How did your family first meet Joe Walsh? And how did this collaboration for Prayers come about?
I met maestro Joe Walsh for the first time in 2017, in Mumbai when he wanted to own a sarod. We met, and it turned into an impromptu jam session that went on for hours. His humility was unreal. You just learn from legends, ‘how it’s done.’ Following that meeting, we were very keen to do something together. So, during our tours in the US, we recorded at Joe’s beautiful studio in Los Angeles over two sessions in 2019; we had finished our sessions just before the lockdown. Prayers is my father’s and our first collaboration with the rock-and-roll world. It’s truly been an honour to collaborate with Joe Walsh. This project is a spiritually infused three-song EP which is an offering for the widespread human suffering.
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Ayaan Ali Bangash
How has the experience of making this EP with Joe helped you personally evolve as a musician?
We didn’t really have a plan, but one knew that something profound would come out of this. You are almost guided by an unseen power called music. The album has a meditative, transcendental spirit that permeates. We were very honoured to be joined by several iconic Los Angeles-based musicians — drummers Stewart Copeland [of The Police] and Jim Keltner; bassists Nathan East, Leland Sklar and Abe Laboriel Sr; keyboardist Ed Roth; guitarist Davey Johnstone [Elton John’s longtime lead guitarist]; and multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale, with whom Joe Walsh has been a band mate.
What compelled you to include the message of ‘We shall overcome’ as part of the music in the EP?
The pieces have very different temperaments. Things happened at the moment. The energy is so positive. I hope this EP brings peace, prosperity and good health to the world. It’s ironic that We shall overcome was recorded without knowing that it will be out at a time when the song is most relevant, including its association with Martin Luther King.
‘Fusion music’ is a bandied-about term? What is your take on its meaning?
It’s important to strike a correct balance between the worlds of traditionalism and contemporariness, but it’s not something easy to do in today’s times. I see a great journey of music being carried forward by brilliant musicians of the younger generation. The world of rock and roll is epic. It’s important to preserve the essence of both Indian and Western traditions, so that they can flow into each other without artistic compromise.
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