Blogs

THE NEW TIMES OF INDIA: DRUMS &TABLA CONNECTION
A music project for east-west integration
by Riccardo Misto, italian musician and musictherapist

Main aspect of this project is the improvement of intercultural exchange between eastern and western musical approach, with a particular attention to Indian subcontinent area. It’s a long time that Hindustani and Carnatic music play an important role in the fusion process with west: from the first echoes present in some 60’pop music hits (Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones ecc.) to the deep and more articulated contamination, in a jazz key, realized by pioneer of fusion, John McLaughlin, with his group Shakti and, recently, with the recordings made in Chennai, where we can hear the young lions of Indian music, you can see how stimulating and interesting may be the dialogue between the two cultures. All this innovative ferment you find in the tracks of the new McLaughlin work “Floating Point”, where you can listen to very interesting east-west contaminations.
The very new aspect of the modern musical dialogue between west and India is the great mastering of harmonic structures that some Indian musician are showing, yet keeping live and present their legacy with the classical roots of Raga. We can say that now the dialogue between the two worlds is more equal and complete: if in the past the Indian musician were the teachers, now we can see how they are more interested to western culture and instruments: starting from the typical drum set, going through synth keyboards and the modernisation of others (guitar and sitar, in the new transformation in zitar, elettrified and played in a very close-to-guitar way by Niladri Kumar).

THE PROJECT
Starting from this mixing and reciprocal influence, the project “The New Times of India” promotes the meeting and the cultural exchange moving just from that instrument, the western drumset, which among all, is the most distant from Indian musical tradition (strongly rooted in tabla, mridangam, pakhawaj and gatham, the typical percussions), but in which are more and more interested the Indian musicians sensitive to contamination between the two cultures.
The program will be articulated in two main directions, one with a didactic/divulger character, and another more specifically musical.
The musical proposal is based on "Tabla & Drums Connection" program, where the classical indian “Raga” is enriched and developed with the use of drum set, in constant dialogue and interaction with the tabla. By this way, yet in the respect of classical tradition, the expressive possibilities are enlarged, making a fusion of two different percussive sets , and so creating a further east-west bridge.
Drum set is the propulsive motor of western music (pop, rock or jazz), and its articulated set allows the use of all player’s physical structure, getting coordinated movements of upper and lower limbs.

The final phase of this project will be a series of live performances, in which will be presented the different way of playing the drums in various contexts (western music, classical raga, fusion music and musictherapy setting). The program, in the spirit of a 360 degrees communication, will find application as in Europe as in India, with Berlin as a starting point, and the sitar of Christian Nocon, the tabla of Mario Molle and the tanpura of Silvia Refatto. Then it will spread around, also with the precious help of Partho Sarothy, intelligent and mindopened to sperimentation musician and oriented to the meeting of different cultures.

All this project will be documentated in a musical CD. There will be also a DVD with a booklet in which will be resumed all the working phases, from the starting idea to the final products.

KADOING proudly presents a brand new X-mas song: "Sgummibandl". The song​ is compo​sed especially​ for X-​​mas fatal​ists plagu​ed by winte​r depre​ssion​ and reces​sion fears​.​​ Enjoy and move your hips​!​​

Best Wishe​s
KADOING

Let me try to trans​late the germa​n lyric​s:​I'm the rubbe​r band from the beard​ of St. Claus​,​and when I tear,​ this hit'​s him hard,​ of cours​e.​.​.​

Magic Sounds is an ambient organic album - a calming and predominantly vocal CD featuring the mesmerizing harmonic tones of Dean Frenkel and the hauntingly ethereal voice of Linda Laasi. It is an album of minimalist music which emphasizes the tonal qualities of the human voice.

Magic Sounds is about ancient therapeutic sounds of vocal harmonics; sounds of the environment which are in effect mesmerizing, soothing and can assist the letting go of tension. It has been used for millennia to calm herding animals in Mongolia, Tuva and Sardinia Musically it traverses across many music genres - meditation, ambient, chill-out, fine world, soundtrack, spiritual (non-religious) and contemporary choral music. It is a music journey of sacred sounds, uplifting soundscapes and original composition. It features vocal instrumentation, an approach to singing which far pre-dates songs. The concept for this unique album began ten years ago when Dean and Linda found ways of using voice to calm their young baby.


Though initially intended as a baby-calming album, it evolved into a people-calming album which also calms babies. Aware that music for babies can be be unsettling for everyone else, Magic Sounds is both gentle and powerful, and musically interesting. In Mongolia, Tuva and other traditional herding cultures harmonic throat singing has been used for thousands of years to settle animals after being disturbed by predators - much like modern day horse whisperers. Given that many animals have short term memories, much like babies, harmonics can help them forget about what disturbed them in the first place.

This surprising album addresses the following questions: Can sound actually be therapeutic? Can a therapeutic cd contain enough musical edge to be musically interesting? Can it feel spiritual without being religious? Can an ambient cd also be organic and based around voice without the singing of one word?

Dean Frenkel broke the Guinness world record for the longest continuous vocal note (57secs) on Enough Rope with Andrew Denton. Linda Laasi won an ARIA award for her vocal contribution to Paul Kelly's soundtrack to feature film 'Jindabyne'. Together they have created music for many spheres, inner and outer. They have also created a mini children's meditation storybook called 'The Magic Sounds of KahMing' which is an added extra with Magic Sounds.

Dean Frenkel and Linda Laasi
Magic Sounds

© 2008 Dean Frenkel and Linda Laasi (9314574037326) (format: CD-R)
CD price: $20.00

1 Northern Dreams
2 Magic Sounds
3 Moon Bear Mantra
4 Australian Soundscapes
5 Crystal Temple
6 Short Song
7 Night Lights and Whale Callers
8 Space in Timelessness
9 Rain Chant
10 Watery World
11 Sleeping Caves
12 Southern Dreams


Dean Frenkel - Harmonic vocalist, recording artist, performer, improviser, composer, instructer, clinical hypnotherapist, author, Guinness World Record Holder for the longest continuous vocal note.

Linda Laasi - Adelaide born vocalist trained in classical, jazz, Asian and Eastern European ethnic music. Improviser of soundscapes, composer and visual artist. ARIA Award Winner for her contribution to the soundtrack of Australian feature film ‘Jindabyne’.

Just published a new piece called "Unstill Light". It's pulsating, droney, and superparticular. If you like that sort of thing, you may like this too. Made with Csound and blue. The piece is dedicated to Greg Schiemer and Warren Burt.

Hofmeister publishing house, Leipzig Germany, published the scores of three pieces of American composer Stuart Hinds, written for overtone choir a cappella and choir/piano.


These pieces will lead to a new level of overtone choir singing. Together with the conductors Jan Stanek and Prof. Steffen Schreyer we premiered them on Bohemia Cantat Festival and Nové Hrady Festival in Czech Republic in 2005 and 2008. Not all singers where experienced in overtone singing. Though it was possible to study the pieces in only a few days as the result of an intense cooperation of the experienced choir leader with me as an overtone instructor. Not easy but well worth it.

a voiceimprovisation i made a short while ago.

Hi, sorry to say, but we have some odd times here in Austria. So I have to tell you, we have odd music here, too. Perhaps, you want to listen to two new examples "Odd Pans" and "En passant": LOOPING. CU Ing. LOOP

My new audio release is ready for you, and it is for free download. The tracks are the same that you can find on my personal page, but now you can download them in mp3 at bitrate 192.
You can find it at bandcamp.com

I've posted the track here, but you can find full details (including Csound code, MP3, and OGG) on my site.