Hawaii To Calcutta: A Tribue To Tau Moe

Hawaii To Calcutta: A Tribute To Tau Moe is a studio album by Indian slide guitarist and composer Debashish Bhattacharya. Released in 2017 under Riverboat Records, the album presents an instrumental fusion of Hawaiian slack-key guitar traditions and North Indian classical music. The project serves as a homage to Tau Moe, a pioneering Hawaiian musician known for popularizing slack-key guitar in the early 20th century.

Bhattacharya composed and performed all tracks on the album, blending the resonant tones of his custom-made lap slide guitars with elements of raga and Hawaiian folk melodies. The recording features 11 original compositions, each titled to reflect themes of Hawaiian culture, landscapes, or direct tributes to Tau Moe. Notable tracks include Playful Melina on Diamond Head, which incorporates rapid slide techniques over a rhythmic foundation, and Papa Tau (A Tribute to Papa Tau Moe), a slower, introspective piece structured around a central melodic motif. Aloha-Alaap merges the improvisational alaap section of Hindustani classical music with Hawaiian harmonic progressions, while E Ku’u Morning Dew and O Ku’u Aloha No ‘Oe adapt traditional Hawaiian vocal melodies into instrumental slide guitar arrangements.

The album was issued in CD format with distribution handled by Riverboat Records, a subsidiary of World Music Network. The release date coincided with Bhattacharya’s international tour in 2017, where he performed selections from the album alongside his regular Hindustani classical repertoire. The liner notes include acknowledgments of Tau Moe’s influence on Bhattacharya’s approach to slide guitar, though specific recording locations or collaborating session musicians remain undocumented in available sources.

Critically, the work is recognized for its cross-cultural synthesis, with Bhattacharya’s adaptation of Hawaiian tunings and phrasing into the framework of Indian classical improvisation. The track Kaua I Ka Huahua’i closes the album with a composition that layers intricate slide work over a percussive rhythm, reflecting the interplay between the two musical traditions. No vocal performances appear on the recording, and all melodic content is rendered through Bhattacharya’s guitar techniques, including his use of multiple slide bars and modified fretboard configurations.