Category Archives: World Music

Maati Baani, funky mingling of Hindustani & Folk

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Maati Baani is a group from India centred around Nirali Kartik, a Hindustani classical trained singer. As stated on Facebook Maati Baani is “a world music band combining elements of Hindustani Classical with various styles of Folk music and New age sounds; we are like mad people set loose!! No rules, no boundaries, we simply create the sound that we love to hear with our different styles of music.” Influences they mention are: Michael Jackson, Pt. Jasraj, A.R. Rahman, Shankar Tucker, Indian Ocean, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Sting, Ustad Rashid Khan, Jack Johnson, and Coldplay. The band has done some exciting and succesful collaborations with a.o. American clarinet player Shankar Tucker and with folk singer Mooralala Marwada. I just like to add one word to characterize Maati Baani: Fun! 🙂




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Pakhawaj playing at its best by the young and brilliant Mahima Upadhyay

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What an amazing young talent, evry detail soo beautifully articulated. Listening to the rich sound of this rhythm queen is truly a listener’s delight. I think the Gundecha Brothers, on front row in the audience, will agree with me.

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Happy 2013! Muziekfeest zonder grenzen: zeven uur exotisch grooven!

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Ga 2013 in met lekkere, dansbare wereldmuziek, aan elkaar gemixt door diverse DJ’s voor de Concertzender, via deze link direct te beluisteren+speellijst! Een feest zonder grenzen, zeven (!) uur achter elkaar, inclusief de beste grooves van 2012! Enjoy & Happy 2013!

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Tabla genius Zakir Hussain: “music is one of the only positive energy forces left in this world”

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Something we easily tend to forget is well put here by tabla genius Zakir Hussain. When asked “what is music?” he reflects on the positive energy of music, while questioning at the same time the mindset of politicians who only hear the drums of war.

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My Top 10 of World Music releases 2012

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01. Shankar Tucker – The Shrutibox (Vol.2)
02. Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route – Borderlands, Music of Central Asia, Vol. 10
03. Ebo Taylor – Appia Kwa Bridge
04. Debashish Bhattacharya – Madeira
05. Alex Wilson – Salsa Veritas
06. Kala Ramnath – Aavartan
07. Blue Flamingo – A Search for CMS
08. Estrella Morente – Autorretrato
09. Saskia Rao de Haas – The Indian Cello
10. The Tour̩-Raichel Collective РThe Tel Aviv Session

I also published this list at Concertzender’s weblog, where you can find 2012 world music top 10 lists by other afficionados.
What were your highlights among new releases in 2012? Let me know, I’d love to hear about it!

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Concerten fenomenaal slidegitarist Debashish Bhattacharya in Amsterdam (08/12/2012), Utrecht (09/12/2012) en Brussel (10/12/2012)

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Begin december 2012 is India’s slidegitaar-fenomeen Debashish Bhattacharya op tournee in Nederland en België: op zaterdagavond 8 december in het Tropentheater in Amsterdam, op zondagmiddag 9 december bij RASA in Utrecht en op maandagavond 10 december bij BOZAR in Brussel. Al eerder besteedde ik op m’n blog aandacht aan deze fantastische ragamuzikant uit Calcutta en ook in enkele van mijn programma’s op de Concertzender en bij de Wereldomroep gaf ik ruim baan aan zijn zingende snarenspel.


Ragaslider Debashish (rechts) en z’n broer Subashish (links) op tabla

Bij zijn optredens wordt Debashish ritmisch ondersteund door z’n broer Subashish, een van India’s beste tablaspelers. De optredens in het Tropentheater, bij RASA en in BOZAR zijn een must voor de liefhebber van de Noord-Indiase raga, maar ook voor muziekliefhebbers die minder vertrouwd zijn met ragamuziek is een optreden van Debashish Bhattacharya absoluut een geweldige muzikale belevenis.

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Kala Ramnath’s musical odyssey ‘Aavartan’ is marvellous!

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Summer 2012 saw Kala Ramnath‘s latest release Aavartan: A Musical Odyssey, Dawn to Dusk – 1&2. I have many of Kala’s albums and I’m very familiar with her style of playing. Still, I’m pleasantly surprised once more by what Kala has to offer on Aavartan (Cycle). Yes, as expected, her violin sings and sounds magnificent, but what strikes me is the overall depth and maturity of her refined playing, a special treat one can enjoy here for almost two hours! The recordings were done in Mumbai for Kala’s own label Kalashree. The quality of the recordings is excellent, adding up nicely to the listening experience. Kala is supported on tabla by two famous players: Abhijit Banerjee on Dusk to Dawn-1 and Subhankar Banerjee on Dusk to Dawn-2. Both albums contain six ragas, each having a particular connection with a certain time of the day or night, reflecting an ideational system based on a daily cycle of changes that occur in our own body and mind, arousing and stimulating different emotions and moods. In other words: Kala presents 12 ragas for the twenty-four hours of the day according to the time theory in Indian classical music. On Dusk to Dawn-1 Kala plays the raags Bhairav (6-8AM), Jaunpuri (8-10AM), Deshkar (10-12PM), Miya Ki Sarang (12-2PM), Patdeepki (2-4PM) and Din Ki Puriya (4-6PM). On Dusk to Dawn-2 Kala plays Hameer (6-8PM), Jaijaivanti (8-10PM), Shankara (10-12AM), Malkauns (12-2AM), Darbari (2-4AM) and Bhatiyar (4-6AM). For a great listening experience I highly recommend these recordings by the Singing Violin of India!

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