Photo courtesy of Paula J. Bennet with Lee Boice
Date: October 1, 2014
Venue: Art Cafe (NY)
Concert review by Dawoud Kringle
On Wednesday, October 1st, the first real chill of autumn filled the Brooklyn night was swept up with the sound of a Rumi-esque poem leading the way into a serene flowing song. The vocals ecstatically glided through the crystalline guitar harmonies and sitar melodies.
Date: September 24, 2014
Venue: Art Cafe (Brooklyn)
Concert review by Dawoud Kringle
On Wednesday, September 24th, the Brooklyn Raga Massive (held, as of this writing at Art Cafe in Brooklyn) presented a performance of Terry Riley’s In C. The piece consists of 53 musical phrases, lasting from half a beat to 32 beats. Each phrase may be repeated an arbitrary number of times. Although the melodic content of each part is predetermined, each musician has control over which phrase he or she plays. The musicians are encouraged to play the phrases starting at different times, even if they are playing the same phrase.
Photo by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Date: September 28, 2014
Venue: Drom (NY)
Concert review by Dawoud Kringle
Kiosk, the pioneer of Iran underground contemporary Persian music, was described by BBC as “stinging political satire hidden within the blues and folksy sound that highlight the paradoxes of Iranian society and the incompetent political system” presented with a unique blend of musical styles. Kiosk is Arash Sobhani (vocals, guitar), Ali Kamali (bass), Ardalan Payvar (accordion, keys), Mohammad Talani (guitar), Tara Kamangar (violin), and Yahya Alkhansa (drums)
Artist: Maldivian Traditional Music
Title: Vaavu Keyodhoo
Label: Asasi Records
Genre: Maldivian Traditional Music
The Maldives. With its blue seas and perfect weather, the islands in the Indian Ocean are a favorite vacation and honeymoon destination. But look past the tourist glitz and there are centuries of history and music here that have gone undocumented. All that changes, though, with Maldivian Traditional Music from V. Keyodhoo (released October 7th, 2014 on Asasi Records), a three-CD collection that offers the very first glimpse of the boduberu, thaara, and raivaru traditions from one of the islands in the chain. And it includes the singing of a woman who know those traditions well – she was already a centenarian when the recording was made.
“The music is in its traditional form as it would probably have sounded like even 100 years ago,” explains Abdulla Kaleem, the album’s producer. “It’s not practiced on every island, either, although it’s strong on V. Keyodhoo, which is about 90 minutes by speedboat south of the Maldives capital, Male.’
Artist: ZOO
Title: Atoms & Combinations
Label: Metal Postcard Rec
Genre: trip hop/electronics/alternative rock
CD review by Dawoud Kringle
When one thinks of Calcutta, trip hop, electronica, and alternative rock somehow don’t spring to mind. Yet, ZOO, the Calcutta based quartet featuring Tanya Sen (vocals, live triggers), Bodhisattwa Ghosh (programming, synthesizers, guitars, vocals), Prosanto Mahato (bass), and Rohit Nandi (drums & interference) provide an intriguing example of a shattered stereotype.
