The session
Rotterdam, 1984
“The year was 1984. I was already a professional session musician, often recording at Supertones Studio near Rotterdam, where Dutch artists like René Froger also recorded,” Krish recalls. “I met Arjune in the studio. He was very young and introduced to me as the next big chutney star.”
The connection to Holland came through a Surinamese manager who, with Mastana band leader and music director Hafeez Khan, put together a team of local legends from the Hindustani and Caribbean music community. “That included me and other Hindustani musicians like Sharif Hoesein, and Edgar Supriano on trumpet from Curaçao,” says Krish. “We all played together regularly and had already formed the Dutch Hindustani band Mastana Orchestra.”
“Studio time was costly, so there was a strict ‘no solos’ rule to keep things fast. But I was a huge Santana fan and always put Latin and Caribbean rhythms into my guitar lines, which gave them more swing than normal disco.”
“We made fifty or more instrumentals in just a few days. I’d start playing my progressions and my friends on drums and bass would quickly follow. Edgar was amazing on the brass, and Arjune recorded his vocals at the very end, in separate sessions, once the instrumentals were finished.”
That pressure cooker, a chance gathering of musicians connected through Trinidad, Curaçao, Suriname and Rotterdam, accidentally gave birth to a disco masterpiece. Disco Baby was born.
