The Fusion Project [Artist Overview]

Happy Earth Day everybody! (well by the time I post this in Europe that will sadly no longer be the case) In the name of bringing the world together and embracing diversity I want to take a moment to look at a band that does exactly that, through the sweet, sweet sounds of music.

Straight out of Oxford comes a group going by the name of The Fusion Project. And no, this isn’t another ‘run-of-the-mill’ jazzed up funk group (although that would be a very choice name for such a group). This is a completely different sound. The ambient choice of guitar, phased in with winding and flowing flute melodies that sound like they come from far-away lands- because they do.

This group, fronted by the amazing Rushil Ranjan (pictured below), combines the workings of Indian Classical and art music, with western song styles and formats, and the results are a set of phenomenal reworkings of hits such as Adele’s ‘Hello’ or Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’.

The blend of guitar and flute in the Hallelujah cover is mesmerising, from start to colourful finish. While I will say the voice on this track leaves a little to be desired, and could have been more prominent when it entered, I couldn’t say it detracted from the atmosphere. What it did do was create a faded echo of the original song within the worldbeat ambience.

The song is an interesting starting point for the band, and it would be cool to see more primarily instrumental works that they perform or come up with.

With regard to voice, The fusion project plays around with how it uses words, lyrics and vocal technique in their performances. Their cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘I See Fire’ is a good example of how they take a western song performance, and blend in other singers articulating and embellishing the melodic line in a melismatic string of curved, angular, and jumping melodies, that get more interesting and developed over time. One could even say there is a creation of, what we who can remember GCSE Music, would call the Alap-Jhor-Jhala structure.

I See Fire is definitely one of the most complex and ambitious creations these guys have worked on. It incorporates a large ensemble, complete with Tablā, piano, bass and cello, as well as the primary guitar, bamboo flute and vocals we’ve already talked about.

What I really like about this cover is how it really remains faithful to the original, whilst bringing it into a new context, and giving it new life and energy.

I’m going to include the video for the last song I want to look at, because the artistic value of the direction and choreography is worth granting attention to. This is their cover of Hello.

The inclusion of Indian dance into this song gives it a culturally diverse starting point, whilst still emulating that dramatic feel we were given in Adele’s music video.

The song itself is brighter than the heavy, deep piano chords that characterise the original. The guitar is at the centre with a sparse, gently plucked chord progression that diverges slightly from Adele’s song, but still maintains some of the essence.

You wouldn’t recognise the song immediately when you hear it. Some people may have to wait until the lead vocals come in (In English) before we go ‘Ohhhhhhhh I know what this is!!!’. This is probably more of a positive point, because it really shows how original The Fusion Project is, not simply taking songs and adding a wavy flute line. They really consider the atmosphere they want to create and what elements of the original they want to maintain.

All in all, I can say that this group shows a great amount of potential, and is made up of musicians with immense talent. I would really like to see what original stuff they have, or are working on, in order to get a better idea of their songwriting capabilities. They seem to be getting started on social media, so watch out for their music as they release new material.

The best way to hear them right now would likely be to catch a concert. They are currently performing in locales around the southern UK, with a concert lined up at the Bhavan centre in London on the 11th of June this year. If you are looking to try something musically different or just want a good night out, it’s well worth going to see these guys perform. Those are my two cents.

Hope you enjoyed this little review, drop me a recommendation if you do, follow for more, and don’t forget to leave any opinions (good, bad or otherwise) in the replies section below!

Buenos noches a todos.