Roryism:

First, welcome to Progarchives.  I hope you are enjoying it.  If you have not done so already, take some time to visit threads, do album reviews, and generally get acquainted with the site.  We welcome your participation and contributions.

Re sitar, of course George Harrison used it in some Beatles' songs that many on the site might call "proto-prog."  There is also a group that I consider prog, but which is not on the site, that used sitar a bit.  They are called Babble, and they put out two albums: The Stone, and Ether.  Both are excellent.

Beyond this, you might find occasional use of sitar in some of the earlier prog bands (Moody Blues, Crimson, et al).  However, I do not know of any bands who currently use it.

If you find them, let us all know!

Peace.

The wonderful Flute and guitar band Grovjobb ,and in particular their guitar playerJerry Johansson  used  sitar on 2 of their releases  Vattarnas Fest and under Solen Lyser  Solen.

Colin Walcott  also played much  Sitar within the East meets West instrumental  ( jazzinfluenced) band Oregon Can they be considered prog  I think so

Np  Molly Bloom : Molly bloom

see my recently posted live review of this great  UK prog folk band

Maestro Aldo Tagliapietra of Italian Symphonic band Le Orme. He plays sitar in both, "Il Fiume" and "Elementi". Enjoy

Here are some treats for you!

For pity's sake, don't forget the Moody Blues...there was sitar running around their first few (prog) albums, especially "Sun is Shining" from To our Children's Children's Children, and In Search of the Lost Chord's "OM", a close cousin to Harrison's "Within You and Without You".

Just to be a Mr. Know-it-all, the instrument on DT's "Home" is not really a sitar, just a sitar sample.

There is also a wonderful little instrument called the Coral Electric Sitar- basically a guitar with sympathetic strings and a 'buzz bar' to make it sound similar to a sitar, while being much easier to play if you are a guitarist. Much of the 'sitar' you hear in classic songs is actually this instrument (not that "Band of Gold", for one, would have benefited much from using a real sitar).

Welcome to the Forum Roryism.

Don't forget The Strawbs, Richard Hudson plays sitar in som albums of the band, but the two songs that come to my mind inmediately are from the album "From The Witchwood":

“Thirty Days”: Classic oriental atmosphere created by the sitar that reminds the listener of the psychedelic roots of Strawbs.

“Flight”: Song that reminds me of the Beatles song “Sun King” (Abbey Road),  and the sitar makes that sensation even stronger.

Iván

The germans of Popol vuh have made in the past a whole album composed with indian instruments, including tablas, sitar...the name is "YOGA".

Many psych folk / prog bands used ingredients as sitar...I recommend you to listen to old stuffs as Langsyne or Emma Myldenberger ( "tour de Trance",the most magnificant album which contains Eastern influences )....then you will forget what Dream Theater could have done

As well as the Beatles ("Love You To" on Revolver is the first, I think, with "Within You and Without You" on Sgt Pepper being the other outstanding use of sitars in Beatles' music), Shocking Blue made good, if enthusiastic use of sitars on their self-titled album; "The Butterfly and I" is a superb track that would have graced any Austin Powers movie! The Electric Prunes are another band of note that used sitars and Indian raga extensively.

The only prog album I can think of off-hand that uses sitars is Third Ear Band - The Magus - but there must be others!

When I did a quick search for use of Sitars in prog, a couple of bands/albums turned up that I had never heard of - maybe someone here knows more about them;

Flute and Voice - Imaginations of Light (1970)

Riff + The Mad Hatter's garden Band Machine - Cellular Fishes in an Ocean of Time (1995)