A. R. Rahman Helped Launch Opportunities for Kevin Doucette '05 in India

Kevin Doucette '05 sat down with Berklee in Mumbai to talk about working with A. R. Rahman and how Berklee musicians are uniquely suited to collaborate with Indian musicians. 

July 8, 2016

Kevin Doucette had only heard Indian megastar A. R. Rahman's name a couple of times before he was tapped to join his Jai Ho Slumdog Millionaire world tour in 2009. Doucette, a Dutch-Canadian piano player who graduated in 2005 with a film scoring major, had been working in L.A. with film composer Lawrence Shragge '77 at the time, and had just left Boston six months prior. 

Today, enjoying a thriving career in Los Angeles and India, Doucette sat down with Berklee in Mumbai to talk about working with Rahman and how Berklee musicians are uniquely suited to collaborate with Indian musicians. Below is an edited version of that conversation. 
 

You were working with Lawrence Shragge '77 when you were offered a gig on A. R. Rahman's Jai Ho Slumdog Millionaire tour. Tell me about getting this news.

I remember this day vividly. Lawrence comes up to me and goes, “Kev, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is I’ve got a really awesome gig for you. But it’s not going to be for me.’ And I was like, ‘Wait, you’re firing me?’ I didn’t know how to take it. He said, 'John [Beasley, a composer who was working with Shragge and Doucette] has asked me if he can take you on the road for the Jai Ho Slumdog Millionaire world tour.’ And that was probably the second or third time I had ever heard of A. R. Rahman. I didn’t really know his music. I knew Slumdog, obviously. And before I could answer, he’s like, ‘And you’re gonna take it.’


What was your job on that tour?

I was hired to do a lot: to be John’s assistant in preparing all the materials for the tour. So that ranged from getting all the sessions from India, to building a technical rig that could handle all the live tracks. I built a system that would run the show with time code, because all the lights would be perfectly in sync with all the movements, based on the computer setup that I had done.


Tell me about your first time meeting A. R. Rahman.

Oh, it was amazing. It was at his house in L.A. The piano had just been delivered to his house and A. R. asked John to play something. So John played and then I think he mentioned to A. R., ‘Oh, Kevin is a Berklee grad.’ So A. R. was like, ‘Go, play!’ That was one of those things—always be prepared. Never be shy to show your skills. So I went up and played and I remember A. R. going, ‘Wait, a Pro Tools guy can play like this?’ I think he registered that, and it was the beginning of A. R., in the six years I’ve been with him, always throwing me little challenges, going, ‘Can he do this? Let’s see what happens if I throw him into this pool.'


What do you do for Rahman now? How has it evolved?

I have a lot more responsibility. The best way to describe what I do is that I’m the utility guy. I can step into any role, be it mixing a song, ghost-writing, programming, adding string parts, arranging, playing piano for him, helping logistics for tour setup, finding musicians, and running a session. So I kind of do a bit of everything.


How often do you come to India?

I come once or twice a year, for a month at a time, to work with A. R. but I’m also working with other Indian musicians over the years and we’re collaborating on other stuff. You’ve always got to find other work. Now I’m going to a studio to do a session with another musician who’s on the A. R. tour.


Has working with Rahman opened up the Indian market for you?

Oh, yeah. None of this would’ve happened without A. R. None of my career would’ve happened without Berklee, because that’s how I got connected with an alum. I would’ve never in my wildest dreams thought, when I first entered Berklee, that I would be working with the most famous Indian composer of all time—the man who’s sold more records than anyone in human history.


What do you think about opportunities in India for musicians, how they will expand, and the role you see Berklee playing in that?

Annette Philip and Clint Valladares (codirectors of Berklee India Exchange) have started something that could be really exciting. There’s tremendous opportunity and I can’t even begin to think of all the things that are going to be coming up, but I think that Berklee wanting to be part of this scene and growing with it is really exciting.


What do you think musicians should know about working in India?

As Berklee alums, we’re kind of already prepared for it because the improvisational style is really big here. It’s been part of their culture of improvising. It’s always been in their music. We have an edge in terms of stepping in and being able to collaborate with Indian musicians. Any time I’ve seen a Berklee grad or a jazz musician work with an Indian musician, the vibe is immediately there and it happens. That’s why I think that it’s a really cool idea that Berklee is wanting to get into this scene and grow with India and bring their Western sensibilities to the Indian sensibilities.


In addition to your work with A. R. Rahman and other musicians in India, what else are you working on?

The last few years have been really rewarding for me. In addition to the incredible projects and touring that I get to do with A. R. Rahman, I have been very proactive in advancing my own career as a composer and music technology specialist. I recently completed music for a video game with Capcom Studios coming out in October for Xbox and PlayStation. I’ve had the pleasure of arranging and orchestrating a two-hour show of the Police/Sting's greatest hits for band and full orchestra. Lastly, I’ve been working with Intel on a new, real-time tracking, gesture-controlled virtual instrument which allows for brand-new ways of creating and manipulating music. I’ve done several Intel trade show demos around the world with CEO Brian Krzanich and I really think this could be a revolutionary way of performing music in the future.