Glade Festival 2012

The UK’s foremost Electronic music festival returns one again in the lush environs of Houghton Hall.  The idyllic greenery of Englands finest will play host to a plethora of stages and sounds that would keep any techno bunny or psychedelic rainbow warrior indulged in his sonic selections of choice for a whole weekend.

Our very own Darren Sangita (aka Noodreem / Ashirvad)  & Jon Sangita (aka E.S.P)  have been invited to share their sounds, playing a mix of favoured selections from their stashbag of  aural delights in the worlds of dub, ambient electronica and world fusion, blended seamlessly with their own compositions.

Having played at many GLADE festivals in previous years, we can say with certainty that this will be a gathering of the tribes to remember.  The promise of great things looms large on the horizon.  Prepare for a Cosmic Lift off of epic proportions!!!    Shanti Aum.

Here is a full line up of Artists to appear at the GLADE FESTIVAL 2012:-

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Screen : we A.R.E. screen

Join in with the Worldwide Exclusive Launch Party for the new album from SCREEN. An explosive combination of Dr. Alex Paterson (The Orb), Gaudi (Digital Dubmeister) & Chester (Brilliant) coming together for the first time to produce a new long player.   The multi levelled realities encased in their debit is an ear-popping mix of electro dub, glitch rock, and ambient punk (!!) cooked up in typical London Dub stylee.

Our very own Jon Sangita is a Special Guest DJ on the night, spinning his usual blend of deep funky ambience and shamanic dub  along with the ambient wizard himself, Alex Paterson, so even more reasons to be cheerful :)

Be sure to catch up with the funksters in person for a dubbalicious good night out.

WHERE :   Inspiral Lounge, Camden Lock. Camden town

WHEN : 31st March 2012

COST : £7 Door. £5.50 adv.

While its ten tracks sport recognizable elements from previous signature sounds, the spirit of collaboration turns the album into a three-way odyssey leaving musical barriers as distant specks on the horizon, the afore-mentioned dub pulsing in the lower reaches or splintering vocals, which sometimes use vocoder effects to lend a cold, futuristic sheen to the messages.
After the swirling pulsations of ’15 minutes’ and intoxicating strings and contagious bongos of ‘Frog Time’, the album ventures into the orchestral dronescape of ‘Gone phishing’ before the sugar-rush monotone funked-up robo-rap of ‘Just outside’. The electronic wind effect of ’Perfect’ turns loose a slo-mo dub-funk behemoth, goosed by sinister narrative which continues as Giorgio Moroder operates from the Clockwork Orange chemical toilets on the post-apocalyptic city prowl of ‘Section by section’. (Kris Needs)

http://soundcloud.com/screen-music/screen-smokescreen

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

BUY THE EP

Read KRIS NEEDS’ full review of the SCREEN album…

QUICK NURSE, THE SCREEN!

After a generation of duos, the power trio is back, hotwired into the 21st century in the startling new form of SCREEN. But, where the threesome lineup, first propagated in the mid-60s by the likes of Cream, used guitar, bass and drums to rattle the roof, Alex Paterson, Gaudi and Chestar have conjoined to tear down the walls, powered by mutual obsessions with dub’s bass-propelled dislocation of Read more

Dhrupad Mela 2012

With good fortune we were able to attend the 37th Annual Dhrupad Mela in Varanasi, India. An exceptional line up appeared for four nights, blissfully resounding the banks of the river Ganges with the mystical sound of Dhrupad. From 8pm till dawn the music was mellifluous and profound with many artists achieving the highest pinnacles of perfection in sound and music, allowing us to enter into transcendental states.

There is really nothing quite like the magical ambiance of sitting beside the sacred river Ganga all night long, diving deep into the subtle currents of sound that only Dhrupad reveal.  Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world and in itself it is a mystical, holy city full of the echoes of devotional prayers of devotees and holy men from across India and the world.

This is the dwelling place of Shiva, who is known also by his ancient name, “Rudra“. In Banaras there is a popular saying, “Kashi ke kankar Shiva Shankar hain”, -”The very stones of Kashi are Shiva.” Shiva dwells not only in the city’s great temples, but in the very ground and substance of the place itself.

Wonderful Musicians from all over India performed at the program.  So many musicians give their time for the love of Dhrupad at this free festival.  Notable artists were Prem Kumar Mallick, Saeed Uddin Dagar, Wasifuddin Dagar, The Mallick Brothers, Uday Bhawalkar and many more that you can see listed below on the line-up.  This year the festival moved from being a 3 to a 4 night festival.  On Shivratri night, the spiritual energy is palpable and each performance is charged with transcendental renderings of classical Raga and devotional Shiva songs.

(Many thanks to Disco Dom for some of the images which were taken from footage he shot.  We hope to share some clips on youtube once we return to UK.)

Artists at Dhrupad Mela, Varanasi, India.  2012

Vocalists except where indicated otherwise.

17th February 2012

  • Wasifuddin Dagar
  • Udav Sinde (pakhawaj)
  • Ritwik Sanyal
  • Ravindra Goswami (surbahar)
  • Ms Ira Mukherjee
  • Nishant Singh (pakhawaj)
  • Brijbushan Goswami
  • Sauravbrat Chakarborty (surbahar)
  • Saket Maharaj (pakhawaj)

18th February 2012

  • Ravi Shankar Udhapadhya (pakhawaj)
  • Abhay Narayan Mallik
  • Ms Kavery Kar
  • Vinod Kumar Divedi
  • Shukdev Chaturvedi
  • Dalchand Sharma (pakhawaj)
  • Ram Kumar and Shamti Kumar Mallik
  • Suvir Mishra (rudra veena)
  • Prashant and Nishant Mallik
  • Indra Kishore Mishra
  • Sudip Pal (pakhawaj)

19th February 2012

  • Gwalior students ensemble
  • Asit Kumar Banerjee (rudra veena)
  • Falguni Mitra
  • Aneesuddin and Nafeesuddin Dagar
  • Ramji Lal Sharma (pakhawaj)
  • Rajesh Sendh
  • Ashik Shankar Mhatre (pakhawaj)
  • Kailash Pavar
  • Bhushan Ji (surbahar)
  • Ms Sanchita Chaudhury
  • Pushparaj Kosthi (surbahar)
  • Jay Prakesh Pandey (pakhawaj)

20th February 2012

  • Ritwik Sanyal students
  • Vishal Jain
  • Prem Kumar Mallick,
  • Ramakant Pathak and students (pakhawaj)
  • Saeed Uddin Dagar
  • Deobrata Mishra (surbahar)
  • Shivdas Chakravorty (sarod)
  • Ms Madhu Bhatt Tailang
  • Uday Bhawalkar
  • Arun Bhattacharya
  • Bhaktiraj & Ruturaj Bhosle (pakhawaj)
  • Savan Mukhopadyay

Thanks to Ragamala @ http://forums.chandrakantha.com for the listing.

Kabir Festival 2012

The wonderful folks at THE KABIR PROJECT have informed us of advent of their excellent Kabir Festival in Mumbai.  From  17th – 19th February 2012, the festival plays host to a full spectrum of musicians from across India who sing Kabir Songs in a variety of regional dialects and musical moods.  The most gracious Padma Shree awardee, Prahlad Tipanya and party will be there once again as will the ever exuberant Mukhtiyar Ali and party.  If you are in Mumbai it is highly recommended you attend!

 Kabir Festival is focused to introduce the audiences of Mumbai to the message of Kabir which is perhaps even more relevant today than it was in his time. A confluence of films as well as live folk music by folk artist from different parts of India including Rajasthan, Kutch, Malwa. The three days of the festival will have multiple events at different locations, all completely free and open to the public on first-come-first-served basis.

For more info on Kabir Project :- www.kabirproject.org

Click “READ MORE” to see the official listing for the events taking place on 17th – 19th February 2012…

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Dover Lane Music Conference 2012

Dover Lane Music Conference is the longest running annual Indian Classical Music festival in Kolkata and possibly whole of India.  This year the festival is dedicated to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th Birth Anniversary.  The line-up for the 60th Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata has been announced and it is, as always, something special.  It promises another 5 nights offering some of the Best of Indian Classical Vocal, Tabla, Pakhawaj, Sitar, Shenai, Violin, Rudra Veena, Bansuri, Sarod and Harmonium performances from an all-star host of performers.

Each program begins at 8pm and continues through the night.  Its a wonderful experience, to sit with thousands of others, opening ones heart to the subtle and stirring magic of India Classical Music.  As the evening gives way to night and night gives way to early morning, the Ragas mellifluously flow from one into another, often in accordance with the sections of the day.  The festival Read more

Kapil Sharma @ Studiofunc

Kapil Sharma hails from a lineage of Rajasthani miniature artists where he is the 6th generation artist.  He follows in the tradition but has a unique twist that sets him apart from his peers. His ability to blend traditional art styles with modern technology and production techniques allows him to create unique pieces and set his work in original spaces.

In the form of utilising the latest in technological developments, he takes the traditional art of his lineage into new realms.

He is a multidisciplinary artist and designer and is experienced in a multitude of creative aspects including the following:- Branding / Print & Publication design / Illustrations / Typography / Film Publicity / Film Title Sequence / Motion Graphics /  Show packaging /  Channel packaging /  Installation art / Graffiti / Fine art photography / time lapse photography / Stop motion animation /

Having had the pleaseure to spend time with him and gain insights into his work we are delighted to share news of his new website :-

www.studiofunc.com

Iyer Foundation presents Sur Mansur Festival

The 2nd annual Sur Mansur festival has taken place at the Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, Mumbai.  It is held in honour of the late Padmavibhushan Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur.

Mallikarjun Bheemarayappa Mansur  (1910–1992) was an Indian classical singer of the khyal style in the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.  He received the three of the highest national Padma Awards: Padma Shri in 1970, Padma Bhushan in 1976, and Padma Vibhushan in 1992.

Padma Talwalkar @ 2nd Sur Mansur Festival, Mumbai, 2011.

Raghunanda Panshikar @ 2nd Sur Mansur Festival, Mumbai, 2011.

Last night I had the sincere pleasure to attend the first night and became mesmerised as the music was flowing in mystic dreams and cosmic clouds. I was surfing on divine waves of bliss and eternal magic melodies were uplifting my soul! Raghunandan Panshikar & Padma Talwalkar were my guides in the ethereal realms of the Jaipur Atrauli Gharana.  Excellence in this tradition took me to another dimension where the magic of classical music converges with the transcendental and divine.  I give thanks to these magical musical souls.

Ulhas Kashalkar @ 2nd Sur Mansur Festival, Mumbai, 2011.

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