Art is Life – SoundFrames: artists speak
Live music festivals are gradually producing a comeback. Varanasi hosted Mahindra Kabira Festival — which celebrated the philosophy of poet Kabir — final week and, on the other close of the spectrum, electronic mainstay, Sunburn, will host a year-ender in Goa starting off December 27. But that’s not to say digital festivals are winding up.
Sadhana Rao has curated the live shows at Bengaluru’s Museum of Artwork & Photography’s ‘Art is Existence: SoundFrames’. Even though she admits some tiredness may well seep in with digital events, a constant audience will continue to be. “Virtual festivals and phases are an important landmark in the ‘creator economy’. They will unquestionably plant its roots and, like most phases, evolve and increase new options.”
The competition characteristics Grammy winner Ricky Kej, vocal quartet Females of the Planet, fusion act SubraMania, and producer Sandunes aka Sanaya Ardeshir. Among the highlights are pre-recorded performances by Kabir Café and a uncommon collaboration involving producer-vocalist mother-son duo Kanishk Seth and Kavita Seth. Also on the billing are Rajasthani artists Bhugra Khan Manganiar, Tamil rapper Mc Artslord and far more.
Also read through | Creating tunes at the museum
Rao says the concentration is on compositions that have stood the exam of time, present-day interpretations of regular music, and the inherent connection to visual artwork. “The artists have preferred compositions that lend themselves to and draw parallels with the visible arts. Some sessions are straight crafted exactly where the two artwork forms merge,” she claims.
Whilst artists like Sandunes will also be section of a panel dialogue about DJing, storyteller/musician Raman Iyer is joined by hand pan artist Nithin M Menon for a journeying overall performance. Kej, for his section, has also crafted a journeying presentation of songs throughout geographies and genres with his piece, titled ‘Bursts of Sound’.
Get in touch with of the digital
“It was an epic virtual collaboration,” suggests Kej. “It was a good deal of enjoyable recording musicians exterior the studio — capturing their pure sounds in their organic habitat and enabling appears of their worlds to turn out to be aspect of the performance.”
Kanishk and Kavita Seth
Kabir Café will be next the additional typical route of carrying out — imparting the philosophy of saint-poet Kabir by way of their music stays at the centre. “What can be expected is a mix of sluggish and quick people-fusion,” says frontman Neeraj Arya. Rao provides that Kabir Café’s general performance will be aired on the exact working day that they execute at a reside function in Kolkata. It factors in the direction of the truth that hybrid, electronic and physical concerts will have their continuous set of followers and stakeholders. “This ‘different’ viewers [at Art is Life] made us believe a ton of the presentation of the songs that would fit into the huge canvas of this eclectic combine of artists from distinct spheres of art. Having consulted with the organisers, we were equipped to produce the right touch to make a beautiful nevertheless potent efficiency.”
Like most are living bands, Kabir Café had been keen to get on stage just after missing out for just about two yrs. But Arya suggests they are content to leverage their digital footprint, way too, as they prep to release their impending album SABR in a piecemeal style. “We are able to arrive at out to audiences usually thought impossible mainly because of the restrictions of place and time,” he concludes.
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