Jugaad

According to the BBC, ‘jugaad’ is “an untranslatable word for winging it”. A musical duo of that name gives a more specific definition for this Hindi term: “a way of accomplishing a set goal with very finite resources”. While these sources are not miles away in their interpretation, the perspectives are different. “Ultimately, there’s no real word in English that captures the essence of jugaad”, the BBC journalist concedes.
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Comprising Dhani Muniz and Nishad Pandey, the musicians of Indian-Brazilian and Indian descent, Jugaad ponder over the change in the meaning. What used to be a derogatory term with a ‘know-your-place’ implication is now a form of kudos. Choosing improvisation as the key principle, Muniz and Pandey threw down a gauntlet to an elitist attitude as well as formulaic music production.
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Although based in different places (Pandey in Berlin and Muniz in South India), the two teamed up and started exchanging musical ideas in the style of the Surrealist cadavre exquis. Each would send the other a fragment to be enhanced by the receiving side. During the process, the two refrained from suggestions or critique but followed the principle that the work is considered finished when both sides agree on that. The distant form of communication and collaboration was fruitful, resulting in a fifteen-track album.
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This approach defines the unrestrained sound of Re-Semblance. From smoky Americana on cinematic guitar-led opener ‘Dissident Typewriter’ to hypnotic Kluster-esque kosmische on ‘Still, Sentient’, the album doesn’t fit into any genre-specific box. Recorded in different locations, it has soaked in the sounds of its surroundings. On ‘AIBC (All India Broadcasting Corporation)’, a raga-driven guitar part is suffused in the haze of field recordings from the public broadcaster.
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While Re-Semblance is their debut, both members of Jugaad are not new to music – and music experiments, in particular. New York-born and Auroville-based Muniz has been involved in a few jazz improvisation projects and released his solo debut album Chimu Fiesta in 2022. Pandey has worked on multiple projects within the realms of contemporary and traditional music (Bengali Folk Music Reimagined and Indian Folk-Fusion).
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Brian Eno once said that deadlines and small budgets are the formula for a good record. Though Re-Semblance is unlikely to hit the pop music charts, it does a pretty good job at reconfiguring what matters: music and the connection that it makes.