Some of the best musicians playing Western music in India were from Goa. They excelled performing outside the state. One of the last to keep the rhythm on track is drummer William D’Souza.
William started playing by ear and with his heart when he was thirteen. Then, he won the once-famous Shimla beat show contest in Calangute, Goa, along with the St Britto High School band Oblivion. From there on his talent began to soar.
“Music has to flow from the heart. When one starts learning music, it is textbook music and never sounds melodious if the beat of the heart is missing. Music, like love, has chemistry with the body,” thinks William, as he brushes his hair.
From thirteen to sixty-two, William moved from playing for his school band to performing along with some of the greatest the music world has seen in Goa and abroad. From drums to tins, to utensils and even using his braids to produce swish sounds on cymbals, William has done it all.
“I think Steve Sequeira helped me get a solid foundation. I owe a lot of my learning to him, but it was the German band Embryo that helped me realise my true potential,” reminiscences William.
It was after playing with Embryo in 1978 in Germany that William decided to return to India and start learning Carnatic music in 1983. William has a master’s degree in Carnatic music, in mridangam percussion.
William belongs to the time of drumming in Goa where he and Bondo wielded drumsticks with total precision. Among the two, William was more into getting the best out of the instruments, while Bondo was more interested in getting his fans involved with the music.
If William was a musician, Bondo was a mix of musician and entertainer. William started playing rock, drifted to jazz rock and today is into mathematical rhythms.
“In music, there is no such thing as better or the best. We all learn from each other, different forms of music,” reasons William.
“I am more into the experimenting and research of drumming,” he admitted. “Indian music gives one a boost to experiment. It was Uve Müllrich from the band Embryo that influenced me to return to India and invest in Carnatic music,” admits William.
“Mathematical rhythm is about being able to play odd rhythms and the ability to fuse music from the heart and text. One can use Indian medium of music with any form of music,” says William as he tries to explain the mathematics of beats with numbers on a piece of paper.
Before deciding to learn Carnatic music in Bengaluru, William was a regular in most bands in the 70s and 80s. He was the first Goan drummer to jam up with foreigners during beach parties.
“A good musician will have rhythm and music in him and learning music through textbooks is secondary. Ninety per cent of learning music depends on one’s ability to listen and the remaining ten per cent comes from relating to music,” thinks William, who was recently felicitated for forty years of service to music by Roque Lazarus of Axl School of Music and Technology.
I keep travelling all over but don’t have any shows in Goa. My musical seed was planted in Goa, but I had to grow out, and it does hurt at times
William D'Souza
“Music is my life, and I am happy having got the chance to play for so long. But, I must admit I would not have survived had I been playing only in Goa. I have had to make Bengaluru my base to survive financially,” reveals William.
“I keep travelling all over but don’t have any shows in Goa. My musical seed was planted in Goa, but I had to grow out, and it does hurt at times,” says William who gives master classes to musicians in Bengaluru.
William, who has performed with the legendary Sivamani, thinks that despite music being in the veins of many Goans, it’s the dearth of monetary recompense that becomes the stumbling block.
William, who has performed with the legendary Sivamani, thinks that despite music being in the veins of many Goans, it’s the dearth of monetary recompense that becomes the stumbling block.
Some of the greatest musicians from Goa have succeeded outside and have returned to enjoy the sounds created by them at home, and William’s trip has just about reached this stage of his musical journey.
Ta, taka, taka tan, tan tin…his beats always flawless, waiting for understanding and appreciative ears.
