Don't Call It Fusion: Nitin Sawhney's Favourite Music | Page 7 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

6. Shakti – Natural Elements

When you hear music like this album is when you realise that the idea of people being separated by geographical boundaries is nonsense. Musicians like these show how superficial all these separations are. I’ve never liked the words ‘fusion music’ because it feels like we start with everything being separate. Fusion never works for me because it feels like contriving to put things together as opposed to finding an emotion and using whatever you need to express that. This album was so unique because I heard jazz and rock guitar along with Indian classical music. This was a revelation and influenced me for the rest of my life not only terms of music but in terms of life as well.

PreviousNext Record

Don’t Miss The Quietus Digest

Start each weekend with our free email newsletter.

Help Support The Quietus in 2025

If you’ve read something you love on our site today, please consider becoming a tQ subscriber – our journalism is mostly funded this way. We’ve got some bonus perks waiting for you too.

Subscribe Now