french-wave : You have a special relation with Japan. When did your fascination with
Japan start ?
‘Bluey’ Maunick : The interest and the fascination started or began as early as I discovered
that music is going to be my carrier. At the earlier age of 5, I remember
listening to music and thinking that is what I want to do and this is how
I want to do it. There was no other thing in my mind. It is like you teach
a child to walk, you teach a child to talk. You know that this is water,
this is fire; you don’t put your hands in there. As soon as you get those
senses; to me it was natural as it is that I am going to play music. One
of the things that interested me at the same time was Japan; I come from
a small town called Port Louis in Mauritius, the capital city of Mauritius.
It has a main harbor, so tourists and sailors will come in and I remember
with my grand-father the Japanese sailor. That was the earliest recollections
I have. He told me few things about Japan and I was like who this is a
mystical land, this is something different because when we spoke about
Italy, when we spoke about France, Germany Europe, America; some things
are connected to all of them. But there was Japan, which seemed to be a
different thing. It was the main interest. That interest was renewed when
I start to play music. Japan seemed to be the holy grail of all the musicians
in the U.K. When you go to a gig or a record shop to buy a record, there
were just talking about Japan. Tours in Japan; Deep Purple live made in
Japan. Everything coming from there was just sensational. . |
