Prema writes personal account of her journey in music

Prema’s history (Pg. 6) – Once these main three musicians were on board, I got in touch with Wah Wah Watson. He was someone whose playing I had been drooling over for years. I adore the wah wah and like the Fender Rhodes, feel that it is a fundamental sound that my music craves. However, Wah Wah brought more into the music than I could have ever imagined. Wah Wah produced and arranged his parts on the album and I still have to pinch myself every time I hear the music he made. Although we have never actually met in person, we share a very strong bond. We worked very closely together for about a month, him in LA and me in the UK. Everything was done over the phone and I think our longest conversation to date was a little over 5 hours! :-) And the stories he would tell me, man, he had me in stitches from laughing so hard! He taught me a great deal too; a serious, old school master so free with his knowledge. I had the time of my life with him. Wah Wah is a truly remarkable man!

Bashiri Johnson came on board in New York where the album was recorded. He was the final piece to the puzzle and completed the album in true style. I remember the day he came in, we booked him for 3 hours, because our budget had been maxed out by this stage, but Bashiri being the kind & generous man that he is, stayed for nearly 7 hours, giving his everything to the tracks he recorded. His performance was astounding; watching him perform 'live' to these tracks left us all in the studio completely overcome. It was also an emotional moment for me too, because for the first time, I really got to listen to the tracks while Bashiri was recording. I could really hear that the album had evolved into something so much more than I could have ever hoped for. When Bashiri left the studio, he gave me a final glance goodbye and left these lovely words ringing in my ears, 'Prema, call me when you do the Letterman Show ok? :-)'

Each of these musicians has left a much welcomed mark on ‘in Fusion’ and in me too. This album is what it is because of their combined energies, sprits, souls and talents. They all have a very special place in my heart and they came into my life just when I needed them most. It’s one of those fateful things, I believe; working with them has changed me in a deeply profound way and you don’t need much more than that in life!

The whole New York thing came about because of a few vital reasons. Firstly, the musicians were American, so it made sense for me to go to the US, rather than bring everyone to the UK. Secondly, my close friend Norman Lim lives there and he generously let us stay at his place, using it as a wonderful base in NYC. Thirdly, I felt a certain affinity with NYC even though I had never been there. Knowing that I would be completely out of my comfort zone filled me with a sense that it was the ideal place to make this album. These kinds of circumstances often bring out the best in people and it proved to be the ideal scenario for me. So off I went to NYC, nervous as all hell and excited; this album was coming together in real style that's for sure.