1 - Could you tell me about your musical education?

At first it was very informal. I took to the piano at an early age but didn't start with good teacher. She was forcing me to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while I was trying to figure out sections of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." We didn't get along and so I was largely self-taught in most of my childhood. I didn't get into formal music training until high school when my choir director discovered I had perfect pitch. He insisted that I study and catch up on all the theory and harmony that until that time had been buzzing around instinctively in my head.

- In your opinion, which are the differences between New Age and World Music styles?

I think World Music is a category of New Age. With "World" there is a definate influence and blend of different instruments from different cultures. "New Age" encompasses this but also all other instrumental styles which are electronic, jazz, classical etc.

3 - How do you see the present New Age production?

Thanks to digital recording technology and its affordability, it is now easier to make good sounding recordings. The New Age market does not have a mass audience like pop or rock does. Therefore for New Age artists it is more about quality of our music as opposed to quantity.

The problem is that some New Age music has been deliberately created and marketed as "background" or "less than real music." And that spoils it for the rest of us. I have met artists that are more excited about pressing a CD than actually taking the time to see how their music affects their audience. Good music can be simple and effortless, but that doesn't mean if you're simple and effortless it will be good!

4 - In your opinion, is it New Age a "new musicality way"? Why?

I am very grateful that we have a category call New Age but the music itself is not that new. Its just that we've finally found a home for our musical style, that before was lost in the "sound effects" department or "miscellaneous". When I was growing up it was always difficult to find where the newest albums were from Wendy Carlos, or Tomita or Jean-Michel Jarre or Mike Oldfield. Now that we have defined "New Age" we can finally find them and so many more.

5 - Could you tell me, please, which are the most important thing in your work?

Melody is the most important thing in my work. All the layers of orchestration and dynamic changes I create still have to work around a core theme or melody.

6 - How did "New Age" influence your work?

I have always been intrigued with instrumental music and find it much more liberating than the pop scene. New Age influenced me in that it gave me the confidence to release my own instrumental music. The classical synthesists like Tomita, Wendy Carlos and Larry Fast were my main influence. After that came Mike Oldfield, Kraftwerk, Jean Michel Jarre and Andreas Volenweider.

7 - Could you tell me, please, about your composition process?

It starts with a rough sketch on a few tracks on my sequencer and a few modules. It can be as simple as piano, pads and percussion. Once the form is in place I then "attack" all the different levels of melody harmony and rhythm to create a very layered orchestrally hybrid sound.

8 - Which equipments and keyboards do you use?

It's a hybrid of technologies through the ages. I rarely throw gear out, I just add to it. So I have everything from my original Minimoog, through Roland, Korg, Oberheim and Yamaha modules and of course all the digital hard disc Macintosh computer stuff. I'm now using a lot of virtual synthesizers and samplers but I still have the hardware around too. My sequencer of choice is Logic.

9 - Where can I found your discography?

http://www.bhatiamusic.com/resume/index.html

Teclado & Audio #99, January 2005