Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. Paris. 1969 / Getty Images
Qalam strives to explore the interpenetration of different cultures. To this end, we have decided to launch a series of playlists in which music mediates between different geographical and ideological spaces. Our first playlist is called ‘West to East: One Hundred Best Songs’. It will be updated several times a week, and its curation will focus on how Western pop culture has reflected the realities of the East, whether they are musical, geographical, religious, or political. (The terms ‘West’ and ‘East’ should be taken as broadly and arbitrarily as possible.)
Of all the prominent French chansonniers, Serge Gainsbourg was the most musically versatile. At different times, his songs have included the melodies and harmonies of Nigerian percussionists, Anglo-Saxon psychedelia, Caribbean dance, New York hip-hop, and Jamaican rhythm sections. His love affair with southeast Asia began with the film Les Chemins de Katmandou (The Roads to Kathmandu, 1969), and a year later, together with composer and arranger Jean-Claude Vannier, he wrote the soundtrack to the film Cannabis, one of whose songs is entirely inspired by Indian ragas and is slightly reminiscent of Jim Morrison's sweet opening to ‘The End’ (where The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger tuned his guitar as a sitar, mindful of Ravi Shankar's lessons).