Derek Julien at a practice session. Picture by Pabitra Das

He has broken cultural barriers to come up with a brand new sound. Now, guitar virtuoso Derek Julien, with a three-decade-old musical career, is in town to gig with old friends Jayashree and Gyan Singh of Skinny Alley at Someplace Else on Friday night.

Derek harbours a “soft corner” for Calcutta, the city that “often beckoned in its heydays when it was the seat of some swinging music”.

“It’s amazing that places like Someplace Else still exist to promote live acts. Some of the energy of the 60s is still palpable and few places in India compare,” gushes Derek, looking forward to playing with “good friends... and one of the few bands daring to do original work”.

Derek, playing professionally since 1967, knows well the odds against original western music. “English-speaking people are a minority here, but in a country of one billion, even if you target one per cent to sell your albums, it’s a huge number. But major record labels are not game to take up innovative projects,” rues Derek. Now he is happy playing with Pune-based Fusion Ensemble that brings together the tabla, bamboo flute, bass and electric guitar, sometimes roping in kathak dancers and musicians passing by. He also takes up recording projects at his home studio.

When Fusion Ensemble went to perform at the International Film Festival in Delhi last year, an impressed actor-minister Vinod Khanna invited them to play at a party thrown by the visiting Russian President’s wife. “It turned out to be a very memorable experience,” reminisces Derek, who first hooked up with a rock group in Mumbai called Waterfront in 1971.

Derek is now enthused about a fresh project. “I have a new album in mind that has a lot of spontaneous but down-to-earth music, not the sterile atmosphere of a studio,” he elaborates, hoping to throw in everyday sounds like his dog’s bark.