Compositions
Slow Theka
Slow Theka is a piece for sarod and interactive electronics. The electronic sound is generated in realtime based on the rhythmic and timbral characteristics of the sarod improvisation. The piece is based on the feel of vlambit tintal, a distinctive rhythmic framework used in North Indian classical music.
Vadi
Vadi is an improvisation between sarod, a traditional fretless, plucked North Indian instrument, and a machine listener. It has been performed at the Listening Machines 2007 concert at Georgia tech and at the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts in Minneapolis.
[listen here or download the mp3]
Raag Ahir Bhairav Drut
A short excerpt from the drut gat in Raag Ahir Bhairav from a classical concert at the Sangati Center in SF with Ferhan Qureshi on tabla.
Anitya
This piece uses a custom-built processing environment in PD and is for microphone, speaker and prepared sarod.
[listen here or download the mp3]
Dangum
Dangum is an interactive piece for mridangum and computer. It is based on the technologies used in Tabla Gyan, and was created by Alex Rae, Jagadeeswaran Jayaprakash, and myself. The piece, performed at Listening Machines 2008, uses a machine lister that classifies mridangam strokes as they are being played and responds with its own rhythmic gesture. It roughly follows the form of a traditional percussion duet.
[watch the video]
Chalan
Chalan was produced with Alex Rae for the Dhamaal Soundsytem album released in 2005. During my time in the Bay Area I was a member of the Dhamaal Collective a group of artists and musicians that presented a monthly event in San Francisco. Here's what the SF Bay Guardian said: "... a visionary group of DJs, visual artists, and musicians called Dhamaal has been shaking up the underground with its highly skilled blend of beats and traditional South Asian sounds." - Winner of SF Guardian's Best of the Bay 2003
[listen here or download the mp3]Music bio
I am a sarod player. I have had the good fortune to study for over a decade with the greatest of all Indian sarodiyas, Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta. His music has been a source of great pleasure and inspiration to me. Before that, I studied with Michael Robbins, a disciple of of two legends of Indian classical music Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitre and Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh. My study of sarod began in college, when I took a year off to study in Pune with Shri Vasant Sonone.
In 2000 I started a record company, bolrecords to highlight some of the outstanding music coming from contemporary performers of Indian classical music. I have recorded artists such as the Gundecha Brothers, Anindo Chatterjee, Tanmoy Bose, Prattyush Banerjee, Sandipan Samajpati, Sugato Nag and others. Previously the work was available at bolrecords.com. The site has been down for some time, but I hope to have it back up soon. Concurrent with that work I have produced concerts for many musicians: Buddhadev Das Gupta ('02), Anindo Chatterjee ('02, '03, '07), Nayan Ghosh ('06), Gundecha Brothers ('04), Tanmoy Bose ('01), Anirban Das Gupta ('98), Sugato Nag ('05, '06), Chitravina Ravikiran ('03), Trichy Sankaran ('03) and others.
I have also been involved in the production and composition of electronic music. During my years at Stanford in the Bay Area I was part of the Dhamaal collective, a group of artists that presented what might be called South Asian electronic music. More recently I have been attempting to incorporate Indian music in interactive electronic pieces using machine listening technologies.
I grew up making music in NY with my good friend Alex Rae, one of the most talented musicans I have known. He produces electronic music under the name xrae.
I host an Indian Classical Music radio program every Sunday at 6pm called Gharana Music on WREK 91.1. You will hear what I think is some of the greatest music of the past century, much of it unreleased. I also try and speak a bit about the music and the performers. I used to the program on KZSU FM 90.1 in the SF Bay Area for three hours every week. During the seven years that I did the program I interviewed many artists (Tanmoy Bose, Gundecha Brothers ...) in the studio and did many specials (Vilayat, Tabla Solo, Ghazal, Qawwali, Buddadev ...) I will post some of these here.
Music I like...
listen
to some great music (more to come)These are mostly 78RPMs recorded in the mid-twentieth century, arguably the apex of Indian classical music. Although typical presentations of ICM are long, these show how beautifully the essence can be captured in a few minutes. Some of the greatest pieces ever.
- Ahmedjan Thirakwa — Vlambit Tintal
- Ahmedjan is the Mt.Everest of tabla. The profundity and weight of this recording shows why.
- Ahmedjan Thirakwa — Drut Tintal
- Three and half minutes of tabla perfection. The nagma in raag Kedar is quite unusual, and hard to forget.
- Buddhadev Das Gupta — Raag Maluha Kedar
- An early recording of my guru showing his lyricism and flowing taan work (fast melodic passages).
- Ali Akbar Khan — Raag Darbari
- Darbari is a very deep raag. Listen and listen again. Ali Akbar khan goes to its heart. His tone is unbelievable, as is the feeling in each swar
- Vilayat Khan — Raag Shyam Kalyan
- For sheer virtuosity and exhilaration it's hard to compare with Ustad Vilayat Khan. Listen to the sparkling tans — untouchable.
- Amir Khan — Raag Puriya Dhanashree
- Amir Khan brought a new approach to singing that subsequently came to define what khyal (the most popular style of singing in NICM) is about. Here he sings Puriya Dhanashree, another serious raag. Notice the weight and timbre of his voice.
- Bade Ghulam Ali Khan — Raag Pahadi
- Here Bade Ghulam Ali Khan shows the total vocal command for which he was famous. Pure fluidity and melody.
- A series of alap recordings that Pandit Nayan Ghosh performed on sitar for my raag database. Truly one of the most talented contemporary musicians in ICM.
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Gaud Sarang
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Bageshri
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Bhatiyar
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Marwa
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Bhimpalasi
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Shree
- Nayan Ghosh — Raag Komal Rishabh Asaveri