Similar to cuisine, the stringed instruments of the world are usually enhanced with the distinctive local flavour of the country that produced it. The sitar is one such stringed instrument; characteristic of the Indian subcontinent, it descended from long-necked lutes transported to India from central Asia, really started flourishing in the 16th and 17th centuries until it developed into its present form in the 18th century, and has been a mainstay in the culture ever since.

Today, the sitar remains the dominant force in Hindustani music, the music found in north India. It is commonly used as a solo instrument but can be complemented with the melodies of the tambura and percussion of the tabla, as see in Indian kathak (dance-dramas).

This national instrument be­came international in the 1950s and 1960s, in no small part due to popular Western bands like the Beatles and the Kinks using the sitar in their recordings. George Harrison in particular took to the instrument, appearing in the seminal Beatles film Help! experimenting with the instrument offstage.

Western musicians’ embrace of the instrument led some curious fans to experiment with the sitar, as could be seen locally at this year’s Earth Garden Festival, where Maltese sitar player Glenn Sacco performed. Like others around the world, seeing some of his favourite artists produce great music with this exotic guitar was too much of a draw.

“I discovered the Indian sitar 14 to 15 years ago,” says Glenn. “I”ll always remember seeing George Harrison and being totally amaz­ed by his performance. I can also recall watching a television documentary about Indian culture and instruments that I found to be of great interest and very inspirational.”

After being introduced to the sitar through popular music and media, he looked to getting his hands on his own sitar.

“It was my dream from an early age to own my personal Indian sitar, and then in 2015, Tony Curmi, a great friend of mine, helped me buy this beautiful instrument from India, and my dream turned into reality,” he smiles.

“I’ll always remember the first time I set eyes and laid hands on the sitar; I was overwhelmed at how big and difficult it was to hold, balance, and play, but through all my hard work and dedication and numerous hours of practice I began to familiarise myself with the instrument. I became more comfortable with it, and from then I’ve never looked back. My love for the sitar has grown ever stronger and I just can’t stop playing!”

The allure of the sitar is found in more than just the sounds; it’s also the look and feel of it that makes it so unique, as Glenn himself can attest to.

I love the unique sound it makes when you are playing it and the resonance you experience is amazing

“I had always been very curious as to what material was used to make the sitar, and to my astonishment it is often made of seasoned toon wood, and sometimes of Burma teak; it is also fitted with a second resonator, and a small tumba (pumpkin or pumpkin-like wood replica) on the neck,” Glenn explains.

“The shape was also very unusual,” he continues. “I love the unique sound it makes when you are playing it and the resonance you experience is amazing and stays in your head.

The sitar is made up of bet­ween 18 to 21 strings, of which six or seven are played strings which run over curved, raised frets and the remaining strings are known as sympathetic strings that run underneath the frets and resonate in sympathy with the played strings.

This harmony between the different strings and the resonance in the unique shape of the instrument is what gives the sitar its singular sound. Interestingly, even though the instrument sounds so different – or maybe because of it – the sitar has been found to meld in very well with foreign instruments, sometimes creating very special tracks.

“The sitar can almost definitely be complemented with other modern day instruments such as the guitar, drums and electronic keyboard, to name but a few,” says Glenn. “Along with my newly form­ed band Jangal I demonstrated recently how to mix the sitar with electronic/ reggae/ethnic music. I was to­tally amazed at the final result and it left me speechless as to how well all the sounds from these different instruments blended together. I am very excited with the new, fresh and modern style of music we have created,” he beams.

Jangal’s interesting blend of ethnic and modern music was much appreciated by the Earth Garden crowds, which also show­ed the band that their music has an audience in Malta in 2017.

“It was a total honour to play for the second time at Earth Garden. It was such a magical experience for us,” Glenn says happily. “I can honestly say I was very excited but at the same time feeling apprehensive, as I was very unsure as to how the audience would perceive our new style of music.”

“After gauging the reaction we received from such an amazing audience it was clear that our unique style of music was welcomed. To see everyone happy and dancing with smiles on their faces is exactly what you aim to achieve when you are a musician,” he continues.

“After our performance, people from the audience were coming up, asking to know more about our band and style of music. They wanted to know when we were performing our next gig and if any of our music was online for them to listen to. I was overwhelmed by the whole experience.”

With his trusty sitar by his side and his band working on music and on their next performances, Glenn is focused on taking his knowledge of the sitar to the next level and explore the opportunities for modern sitar music.

“I’m going to continue to practise playing the sitar at every given moment as it takes years to perfect this beautiful instrument, while carrying on being creative and experimenting my new music ideas,” he says. “I would also like to have the opportunity to play at different venues that cater for our unique style of music as in Malta it is very difficult to find a spot where to play and, being such a small island, you have very limited options. It is also my ambition to release a demo of my own music in the not too distant future.

“Apart from that,” he stops with a smile, “I’m already saving money to purchase another sitar!”

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