A R Rahman: Music maestro coming to Leeds

The Oscar-winning Indian musician and composer AR Rahman talks to Chris Bond ahead of his concert in Leeds next month.
The Oscar-winning musician is heading to Leeds.The Oscar-winning musician is heading to Leeds.
The Oscar-winning musician is heading to Leeds.

THERE can be few musicians who draw on such an eclectic range of influences as A R Rahman.

The Indian-born composer and musician’s oeuvre stretches from eastern classical music to modern electro and Indian pop and next month Rahman, who rose to global prominence for his score for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, brings his heady musical cocktail to the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

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It promises to be a unique musical experience. “The show has all kinds of songs, some are Hindi, some Punjabi – there’s a lot of music to hear,” he says.

“I used to do big shows with 80 people on stage. This is smaller but the sound is still big and the band is very tight.”

As a musician, composer and performer, Rahman has collaborated with everyone from Mick Jagger and Will.i.am to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shekhar Kapur and Baz Luhrmann, as well as many of the world’s most respected orchestras.

His work has been interpreted by such well known music institutions as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

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If that wasn’t enough he composed a Punjabi song for the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony as part of a medley showcasing Indian influences on Britain.

Rahman was born in Tamil Nadu, in India, and comes from a musical family. His father, R K Shekhar, was a film-score composer and conductor and when Rahman was a youngster he accidentally played a tune on piano during one of his recordings for a film which his father then turned into a song.

His father died when Rahman was just nine years old but left behind a lasting legacy. “My father was a huge influence on me in terms of music and composing,” he says.

Rahman started out playing the keyboard for a series of bands mastering a string of other instruments including the synthesizer, harmonium and guitar, before branching out into writing film scores. He has garnered widespread acclaim for helping to redefine Indian film music and is now one of the world’s biggest-selling recording artists of all time.

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For many people he’s best known for writing the score for Slumdog Millionaire which bagged him a clutch of awards including an Oscar. “I was bored with the films I was doing but I knew what Danny Boyle had achieved with music so I knew I was in good hands,” says Rahman.

“I didn’t have any expectations, he would start sending me stuff and I would work with that. The most important thing was that it was high quality and the score wasn’t all over the place. It was a great experience and it was great to work with Danny Boyle.”

If working with Boyle brought him global acclaim, it is Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber he has to thank for broadening his cultural horizons. “Andrew was like a mentor to me when I was younger. He introduced me to the West and we are still very friendly, there is a great bond between us.”

The 49 year-old is now a figure of global standing in the music world but it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Rahman was born a Hindu but converted to Islam in 1989, changing his name from R S Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman, and last year came in for criticism in some quarters for composing music for a film on the prophet Muhammad. “It’s a very sensitive issue, but I think it’s important for artists, composers and directors to actually influence people.”

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Rahman has long been a pioneer seeking to fuse different musical sounds, styles and traditions. There is also a spiritual aspect to his music.

“It feels like everything is very polarised in the world but I believe that music can help create unity. There is something beyond words and gestures that is very powerful. You can hear a tune or a rendition of a song that can make you cry and that is the power of music.”

A R Rahman plays the First Direct Arena, Leeds on September 29. For tickets call 0844 248 1585.