RAY HARRIS & THE FUSION EXPERIENCE by Yarra Aristi

Ray Harris Interview with Rolling Stone Magazine
(Indonesia)

Otak dan penggerak The Fusion Experience adalah Raymond Harris,
seorang pemain keyboard sungguh berbakat yang menggabungkan musik jazz dengan
sentuhan elektronik, diracik dengan sedikit bumbu funk dan gaya bermusik
yang terpengaruh oleh era ’60-an dan ’70-an. Harris yang berasal dari Glasgow tumbuh di
lingkungan komunitas indie-rock. Pada awalnya ia merasa sulit menembus pasar
musik dengan aliran yang disuguhkan. Namun ternyata ia tidak perlu bersusah
payah, karena banyak orang yang menyukai karya-karyanya dan dalam sekejab ia telah
membentuk sebuah fan base yang kuat. Pemuda ini diasuh secara musikal oleh banyak
nama-nama tenar, seperti Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, hingga Booker T. Jones dan
Ray Manzarek. Harris memainkan piano, organ, clavinet, dan keyboard Rhodes demi
menciptakan perkawinan silang antara elemen akustik dan elektrik dengan
sentuhan soulful jazz ’70-an.Dalam penampilannya di hari pertama dan kedua Jak Jazz 2008, Ray
Harris berhasil memukau penonton – tidak hanya penonton perempuan saja – dengan
membawakan karya-karyanya yang berasal dari album self-titled-nya. Ia memainkan keyboard Rhodesnya bagai kemasukan setan. Sesekali ia berlutut sambil
bermain, lalu menduduki tuts keyboard, sementara jari-jarinya tetap lihai menciptakan
melodi-melodi yang apik. Penampilan ditutup oleh sebuah lagu lama milik The Doors yakni
“Riders on the Storm” yang tentu saja dibawakan dalam versi panjang dan mengundang riuh
rendah sambutan penonton yang puas akan penampilannya malam itu.

English Translation - Thanks to Pradhana Harsa

The brain and motor behind The Fusion Experience, Raymond Harris, is a real
talented keyboardist who successfully combined jazz music with a touch of
electronic sound, a little bit funk and influenced by music from the 60's and
70's. Harris originally came from Glasgow and grew up in a community that was
influenced by indie-rock music. At first he thought it will be hard for him to
go through the music market with the genre that he chose. But as it turned out,
he was able to impress people with his work by a slight effort. It didn't take a
long time for him to create a fan base. Harris was musically raised by a number
of important people in the music industry, such as Thelonious Monk, Dave
Brubeck, even Booker T. Jones, and Ray Manzarek. Harris played the piano, organ,
clavinet, and Rhodes keyboard in order to create a mix marriage between acoustic
elements of music and electric sound with a slight touch of soulful jazz from
the 70's. His performance on the first and second day of Jak Jazz 2008
successfully allured the crowd, and not just for the female crowd only ! He
played the songs from his self-titled album, and when he played the Rhodes
keyboard, it was like he was demented by all this incredible power. Once in a
while he bended on his knees while playing the instrument, then he sat on the
tuts of the keyboard, while his fingers amazingly created great melodies. The
performance was closed by an old song from The Doors,'Riders on the Storm', of
course using the long version one and was able to make the crowd go wild that
night.