In a city that thrives on collisions of culture and sound, New York–based guitarist, composer, and sarodist Anupam Shobhakar unveils Liquid Reality, a daring statement that reframes what modern fusion can be. After turning heads in 2023 with Raga Jhinjhoti on Fretless Guitar—the first-ever recording of Indian classical music on a fretless guitar—Shobhakar now steps forward with an album that is equal parts invention, reverence, and momentum.
Shobhakar’s musical roots run deep. He descends from the illustrious Senia Maihar Gharana and trained under the legendary Aashish Khan, a lineage that anchors his work in centuries-old discipline and nuance. Yet his instincts remain fiercely exploratory. From formative rock guitar days in Bombay to stages around the world, he has cultivated a singular voice—culminating in the creation of a custom double‑neck guitar that marries fretted and fretless techniques. This instrument doesn’t merely bridge two approaches; it opens a portal between the microtonal lyricism of Indian classical music and the harmonic sweep of jazz and progressive rock.
Liquid Reality is a panorama of those possibilities. Shobhakar navigates from Sufi ghazal-inspired lyricism to blazing jazz‑rock virtuosity, drawing on an international cast that amplifies his vision. Pianists Utsav Lal and Santiago Liebson bring contrasting colors—one grounded in raga sensitivity, the other in modern jazz elasticity. Swami Selva Ganesh, a master of the kanjeera, threads rhythmic lightning through the music, while vocalists Ona Kirei and Ben Parag add human timbre and emotional depth. The pulse is driven by an elite percussion team—Satoshi Takeishi, Chris Savarino, and Gumbi Ortiz—each adding a distinct rhythmic dialect to the album’s global vocabulary.
Three pieces crystallize the project’s breadth:
- La Danse de Bonheur: Shobhakar pays homage to his enduring inspiration, John McLaughlin, with a radiant reimagining of the Shakti classic. Rather than a copy, it’s a conversation—steeped in tradition yet forward‑leaning in harmony and tone.
- Anjaneya: Named for the Hindu deity Hanuman, this track channels heroic energy through interlocking Indian rhythms and amplified intensity. It’s a modern rock‑fusion anthem that never loses its raga‑inflected core.
- Formless: A spare, luminous duet for guitar and kanjeera that strips the music to breath and heartbeat. Silence and resonance become compositional tools, inviting the listener into a contemplative space.
What makes Liquid Reality more than a virtuoso showcase is its sense of inevitability: the east‑west synthesis doesn’t feel grafted on; it feels organic, as if these idioms have always been speaking to each other and only needed the right instrument, the right band, and the right mind to make the dialogue audible. Shobhakar’s double‑neck design is central to that fluency—singing meends and raga nuances on the fretless neck glide seamlessly into chordal architecture and modern harmonies on the fretted side. The result is not just a new sound for the electric guitar; it’s a new grammar.
For listeners drawn to the exploratory edges of jazz and global music—think Kurt Rosenwinkel’s harmonic daring, Nels Cline’s textural fearlessness, and the spiritual fire of John McLaughlin/Shakti—Liquid Reality offers both exhilaration and depth. It speaks to guitarists hungry for new pathways, to raga aficionados open to fresh contexts, and to anyone who believes adventurous music can still move the heart as much as the mind.
Liquid Reality is not a detour from tradition; it’s a continuation—proof that ancient lineages can propel the future when guided by craft, curiosity, and courage. This is essential listening for the open‑eared and a milestone for the instrument Shobhakar is rapidly redefining.
