Indian and Latin American sounds find a meeting point in ‘Muévete’

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Siddhanth Bhatia has taken the Indian spiritual sounds global, with this latest cross-cultural venture. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

What happens when the rhythms of Indian konnakol, sitar and tabla meet Latin percussion, Venezuelan horns and Spanish-language pop? For musician and producer Siddhant Bhatia, it is an extension of a journey that has taken him from Indian classical and global collaborations to the Grammy-nominated Sounds of Kumbha . As co-founder of IndiLat, he now brings together musicians from India, Venezuela and Chile through ‘Muévete’, released by Universal Music India. Beginning with Muladhara, the root chakra, and weaving a Sanskrit invocation to Ganesha into a Spanish-language track, the song reflects Siddhant’s curiosity about how music can bring distinct cultural and spiritual traditions speak to one another.

‘Muévete’ begins with Mulahdara, and weaves a Sanskrit invocation to Ganesha into a Spanish-language. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

In a conversation, the musician talks about the collaboration and how ‘Muévete’ came to be.

It was really serendipitous. We met around the Grammys, became friends, and somewhere between India, Venezuela and Chile, realised that we all wanted to do something different. My experience with ‘Sounds of Kumbh’, where more than 50 collaborators came together for a single production, had already shown me how powerful music can be when people from different cultures create together.

That experience laid the foundation for IndiLat. Raghav Mehta and I are from India, Raniero Palm from Venezuela and Cristóbal ‘Tibo’ Gajardo from Chile — four artiste-producers from three countries, building a new sound together.

There was also a deeper curiosity. Our friends from Latin America were fascinated by India and wanted to experience its spirituality. That made us to ask: instead of simply combining Indian and Latin sounds, could we explore spirituality through a conversation between these cultures?

India and South America have rich civilisational histories, each with their distinct relationships to Nature, ritual, mysticism and consciousness. The chakras offered us a framework for exploring these ideas through music, beginning with the root chakra.

Another important aspect is that we are also making music at a time when AI can generate enormous content. ‘Muévete’ is original music, created and performed by people.

We are not against technology, but we don’t want to forget what happens when humans create together. For us, IndiLat is about a genuine exchange, where every artiste is heard and every tradition is respected.

What did the Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated musicians bring to the table?

It was never really about Grammy winners or nominees. Awards are a wonderful recognition, but what mattered was the musicianship and what each person brought into the room — instinct, emotion, experience, listening and generosity.

That is what happened with ‘Muévete’. Nirvaan brought the initial compositional idea, which we developed together.