Overview

1. New Beginner‘s Harmonium - Tirupati Basic
2. Affecting the World (1) – T.M.Krishna
3. Brief News – Research / Festival Anniversary / Record Critics / Ravi Shankar
4. How to Make (Indian) Music? (15) – It’s the Small Things
5. Workshops – October until December

6. Concerts – October until December


1. New Beginner‘s Harmonium - Tirupati Basic
- Company Info -

Our new Tirupati Basic is a particularly simple, small, light, robust and inexpensive harmonium with a warm sound and a very affordable price of only 289 Euros. It is ideal for on the go, for practicing, as a second instrument for lessons and workshops, as an introduction for children, as a shrutibox replacement, as well as for all those who simply want to try themselves out.

The Tirupati Basic has only a single set of reeds in the bass register for sound production. This makes it sound less rich, impressive and complex compared to other harmoniums, but still pleasantly soft, warm and full. The absence of extras like a second or third reed set, separate air chambers, drone notes, octave coupler or scale changer makes this harmonium surprisingly light. Despite its small size, it is still relatively easy to play simple chords evenly without getting disturbing volume fluctuations or to play quite softly - after all only a single set of reeds needs air supply. Thanks to the very simple construction without any frills, the Tirupati Basic is also particularly robust. It is certainly not suitable for the big stage, but can be a great friend in everyday life!

Detailed information, pictures and sound samples.
Overview of our harmonium assortment.

2. Affecting the World (1) – T.M.Krishna
- Feature series by Yogendra -

Many people use the sounds of Indian musical instruments to do something good to themselves and to their immediate surroundings. But some musicians are not content with that. They are committed to a more direct positive impact on their fellow human beings and the world around them. We present some of them in a loose sequence.

Chennai Poromboke Paadal is the title of a deeply disturbing video released on YouTube in early 2017. In the opening credits, a tanpura tunes us in to classical Indian music. But in the first shot we see the face of a man singing with a mask. The second shot shows the singer and an accompanying musician in a long shot, sitting on pedestals in a desolate, grey-brown, flayed river landscape. Later, we see drainpipes from which dirty broth is suddling, dredgers digging in the river mud, factories, power poles and smoking chimneys in poisonous fog. Vivid, depressing images with an almost apocalyptic aura. And we also hear the singer and his three accompanists with a piece of classical South Indian music. When you watch videos with raga music, you usually see concert settings with decorated stages or idyllic nature stagings. The classical world of beauty, good and truth, untainted by the problems and conflicts of today's reality. Chennai Poromboke Paadal with its pictures of exploited, dead nature forms a shocking contrast to this..

The singer in this video is T.M.Krishna, born in 1976, one of the most sought-after and creative performers of Carnatic music in Southern India today and at the same time a critical intellectual and author. With Chennai Poromboke Paadal, he supports an environmental initiative that fights for the protection of the Ennore, a backwater river near Chennai, which is threatened by the construction of a new power plant and the industrial exploitation of formerly public wasteland. The Tamil word poromboke originally meant land that was used jointly, similar to the common land in Europe. In Tamil today, however, it is used as a swearword. The song text in the video asks how this change in meaning came about and denounces the destruction of natural resources through corruption and the greed for profit of industry and politics. The explosive message is packaged in an artistic lyrical and musical form according to the rules of Carnatic art music.

T.M.Krishna is not only involved in nature conservation. Although he himself is privileged in every respect (as a man, Brahmin and offspring of a wealthy family), he resolutely and loudly opposes discrimination based on caste, gender and religion. And he does this very outspoken in his own sphere of activity. He accuses the classical Carnatic music scene of elitist isolation. Non-Brahmins are not explicitly excluded, but in this cultural milieu they hardly have a chance, according to T.M.Krishna. To this day, male accompanying musicians can afford to refuse playing for female soloists without having to fear consequences. Whoever sings carnatic vocal music with texts of non-Hindu religions must reckon with threats from Hindu nationalists. In contrast, T.M.Krishna sees carnatic music as such a great art that he wants to make it accessible to all people, regardless of their caste, class, religion or gender. He has initiated various festivals, educational and cultural projects for this purpose.

For T.M.Krishna, however, the liberation of music from its self-created cage is not only a social question but also an aesthetic one. He deliberately opens and expands classical Carnatic conventions by singing Christian, Islamic or secular texts, by reinterpreting established musical forms in a new and different way, by denying the existence of a sharp border between folk and classical music, or by working and performing in places and with people who until now had no place in Carnatic music. In this way he succeeds in reviving the time-honoured tradition without sacrificing any of its essence. And in connection with his socio-political mission, he makes carnatic music once again a highly topical, entirely contemporary art that has something essential to say in today's world.

Video Chennai Poromboke Paadal.
T.M.Krishna's website.

3. Brief News — Research / Festival Anniversary / Record Critics / Ravi Shankar
- Scene Info -

As part of his research project 'Microtonality of Indian classical music and its psychological aspects', Tomas Reindl from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague has put an audio test online and invites active participation. The test lasts about 40 minutes and consists of evaluating audio samples of classical North Indian ragas recorded by the sitarist Amit Chatterjee. Reindl is convinced that classical Indian music has the power to influence mind, body and soul by using micro intervals according to certain principles. With the audio test he wants to examine the universality of these principles. To participate in the test please click here here as soon as possible!

The test is only available for a short time!

The nomination list for the German Record Critics' Award in the 4th quarter of 2018 includes 4 titles with Indian participation in the categories World Music and Traditional Ethnic Music - 3 of them with singing women in the leading role.

Susheela Raman, well-established British singer-songwriter with Indian roots, combines her very own sound worlds with the sound of a traditional gamelan ensemble on Ghost Gamelan.

Young Bengali singer Anandi Bhattacharya, daughter of slide guitar virtuoso Debashish Bhattacharya, has her roots in classical Indian music. Her debut album Joys Abound mixes classical Indian flavours with elements of jazz and pop.

Another debut is Namaz from the group Baul meets Saz. The band name says it all: a Bengali Baul duo with singer and percussionist plays together with a master of the Turkish long-necked lute Saz.

Red Baraat is an Indian-American band that has been playing bhangra jazz since 2008. The new album Sound the People once again features a club-suited mixture of dhol grooves, wacky brass and all kinds of other wild stuff.

The Sur Sadhana Festival for classical Indian music and dance in Lithuania celebrates its 10th anniversary in November. Under the artistic direction of sitarist Anatolijus Lomonosovas, a varied programme is created every year, which presents top-class international soloists as well as local artists and is performed in several Lithuanian cities in short succession. There are always new thematic focuses, so that over the years the audience has been able to experience very different facets of classical Indian music and dance traditions. This year the focus will be on the Carnatic tradition of South India, with Bharatanatyam dancer Rajyashree Ramesh and singer Manickam Yogeswaran as main artists.

Legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar passed away in 2012. But posthumously he still seems to have cult status. The Rough Guides label recently released a new compilation of some of his classical recordings. And the jazz, world music and classical music distributor Harmonia Mundi promptly presented The Rough Guide to Ravi Shankar on position 6 of its October bestseller list. Considering that the maestro has been dead for several years, and that the re-released recordings date back from the 1960s to 80s, this is an amazing popularity, isn’t it?

4. How to Make (Indian) Music? (15) – It’s the Small Things
- Quote by Keith Jarrett -

The series "How to Make (Indian) Music?" presents thought-provoking, inspiring or controversial quotes from artists and intellectuals.

When you improvise and perceive music as something flowing, you realize that the important things that make sense are very small and that you have to be very patient and clever in finding them and using them wisely. I have worked for forty years to figure out how to strike a key. Those are exactly the things that get lost in this oh so fast age.

The pianist Keith Jarrett, with his easily accessible, transparent principle of free flow of improvisations, is among the most influential musicians of the past four decades. Quote from: Studs Terkel: Studs Meets Music - Studs Terkel in conversation with great musicians of the 20th century, p. 139f.

5. Workshops – October until December
- Scene Info -

Details of all workshops are available in our website's network section.

30.10.-04.11. GB - LONDON: Odissi Dance with Madhulita Mohapatra
09.-11.11. B - BRUSSELS: Bansuri with Harsh Wardhan
09.-11.11. GERODE/HARZ: Nada Yoga advanced training: Mantra Recitation with Indian Instruments with C.Mager, B.Irmer & F.Beese
10.11. POTSDAM: Nada-Workshop with Sundaram
10.11. CH - ZURICH: Mantras and the power of Indian music with Manish Vyas
13-20.11. CH - BASEL: 33rd Annual Seminar of the Ali Akbar College with Swapan Chaudhuri & Ken Zuckerman
15.11. B - BRUSSELS: Ragas with Subhankar Chatterjee
from 16.11. WEIMAR: 3-year Naad Yoga teacher training with Gian Kaur & Prof. Surinder Singh
17.11. A - VIENNA: Rhythms in South Indian Music with Adyar K. Gopinath
18.11. CH - OBFELDEN: Indian music, harmonium and singing with Manish Vyas
23-25.11. GERODE/HARZ: Nada Yoga - the healing power of sound with C.Mager, B.Irmer & F.Beese
25.11. CH - WINTERTHUR: Sounds of Spirit with Manish Vyas
30.11.-02.12. BAD MEINBERG: OM - a source of sounds with Anne-Careen Angels

6. Concerts – October until December
- Scene Info -

For details, locations, times and further dates check our concert calendar.

27.10. STUTTGART: Subhankar Chatterjee - Vocal
27.10. CH - ZURICH: Deva Premal & Miten - Kirtan
27.10. GB - LONDON: Wasifuddin Dagar - Dhrupad Vocal
27.10. GB - LONDON: Sanju Sahai - Tabla Solo
27.10. GB - LONDON: L. Krishnan & L. Vijayalakshmi - Violin / Omkar Dadarkar - Khyal
28.10. F - PARIS: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
28.10. CH - BASEL: Rajan & Sajan Misra - Khyal Vocal
28.10. STUTTGART: Subhankar Chatterjee - Vocal
28.10. STUTTGART: Subrata De - Sitar
28.10. ROSTOCK: The Love Keys - Kirtan
28.10. GB - LONDON: Shahid Parvez - Sitar / Parveen Sultana - Khyal Vocal
29.10. SIEGBURG: Deva Premal & Miten - Kirtan
30.10. POTSDAM: Pulsar Trio - Sitar, Piano, Drums
30.10. BERLIN: Neela Bhagwat – Vocals
31.10. B - BRUSSELS: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
31.10. SI - LAIBACH: Indian Air - Sitar Diaries
01.11. DK - COPENHAGEN: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
01.11. HANNOVER: Yogendra - Sitar
01.11. FUERTH: Deva Premal & Miten - Kirtan
01.11. BERLIN: KG Westman – Sitar
02.11. CH - WINTERTHUR: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
02.11. FRIEDBERG: Indian Air - Sitar Diaries
02.11. SCHONINGEN: Yogendra - Sitar
03.11. BITBURG: Sundaram - Kirtan
03.11. CH - LIESTAL: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
03.11. KARLSRUHE: Bharatanatyam-, Bhangra- & Bollywood Dance
03.11. GB - LONDON: Lakshmi Ranjan - Bharatnatyam Dance
03.11. F - HYÈRES: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
03.11. MANNHEIM: Indian Air - Sitar Diaries
03.11. STUTTGART: Monalisa Ghosh - Odissi Dance
04.11. F - HYÈRES: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
04.11. SONTHOFEN: Indian Air - Sitar Diaries
04.11. STADTHAGEN: Yogendra - Sitar
04.11. STUTTGART: Monalisa Ghosh - Odissi Dance
04.11. NL - AMSTERDAM: Budhaditya Mukherjee - Sitar
06.11. BAD MEINBERG: The Love Keys - Kirtan
06.11. ES - BARCELONA: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
07.11. LT - KAUNAS: Rajyashree Ramesh - Bharatnatyam Dance
08.11. CH - LOCARNO: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
08.11. F - PARIS: Nirmalya Dey - Dhrupad
08.11. NL - AMSTERDAM: Anoushka Shankar - Sitar
08.11. CZ - PRAGUE: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
08.11. LT - KLAIPEDA: Rajyashree Ramesh - Bharatnatyam Dance
09.11. OSTFILDERN-NELLINGEN: Debaprasad Chakraborty - Sitar
09.11. NL - ROTTERDAM: Anoushka Shankar - Sitar
09.11. BERLIN: Fanna Fi Allah - Qawwali
09.11. LEIPZIG: Sebastian Dreyer - Sitar
10.11. NL - UTRECHT: Anoushka Shankar - Sitar
10.11. LT - VILNIUS: Rajyashree Ramesh - Bharatnatyam Dance
10.11. BIELEFELD: Yogendra - Sitar
10.11. A - WIEN: Radha Anjali & Natya Mandir Dance Company
10.11. POTSDAM: Sebastian Dreyer - Sitar & Surbahar
10.11. WURZBURG: Satyaa & Pari - Kirtan
11.11. NL - DEN BOSCH: Anoushka Shankar - Sitar
11.11. F - PARIS: Deepshankar Bhattacharjee - Sitar
11.11. BREMEN: Friedhelm Temme - Sitar
11.11. LV - RIGA: Rajyashree Ramesh - Bharatnatyam Dance
11.11. BAD MEINBERG: Yogendra - Sitar
11.11. DETMOLD: Yogendra - Sitar
13.11. BERLIN: Manoj Baruah – Violin
15.11. BERLIN: TRIO BENARES - Indische Klassik & Jazz
15.11. CH - BERN: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
16.11. GIESSEN: The Love Keys - Kirtan
16.11. CH - LUZERN: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
16.11. GB - LONDON: Birju Maharaj - Vocal
16.11. CH - LAUSANNE: Olivier Nussbaum - Sarod
17.11. NEUSS: The Love Keys - Kirtan
17.11. F - ST-HIPPOLYTE: Satyaa & Pari - Kirtan
17.11. CH - ZURICH: Sundaram - Kirtan
17.11. CH - BASEL: Ken Zuckerman – Sarod
18.11. SUNDERN-LANGSCHEID: The Love Keys - Kirtan
20.11. HU - BUDAPEST: Sebastian Dreyer - Sitar
22.11. CH - BASEL: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
23.11. F - FONTENAY SOUS BOIS: Kolam - World Jazz
23.11. BOCHUM: Pulsar Trio - Sitar, Piano, Drums
24.11. ETTLINGEN: The Love Keys - Kirtan
24.11. OSTFILDERN-NELLINGEN: Ashim Chowdhury - Sitar
24.11. NUREMBERG: Satyaa & Pari - Kirtan
24.11. CH - LAUSANNE: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
24.11. SE - STOCKHOLM: Ken Zuckerman - Sarod
24.11. STUTGART: Manoj Baruah - Violine
25.11. STUTGART: Manoj Baruah - Violine
25.11. LICHTENTANNE: Pulsar Trio - Sitar, Piano, Drums
27.11. CH - THUN: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
28.11. BERLIN: Ashim Chowdhury – Sitar
28.11. LI - VADUZ: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance 29.11. AUGSBURG: The Love Keys - Kirtan
29.11. CH - KREUZLINGEN: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
29.11. F - PARIS: Anusha Cherer - Bharatnatyam Dance
30.11. BAD KOHLGRUB: The Love Keys - Kirtan
30.11. CH - ST. GALLEN: Namrrta Raai - Kathak Dance
01.12. MUNICH: The Love Keys - Kirtan
01.12. KARLSRUHE: Subramania Siva - Carnatic Flute
02.12. KAUFBEUREN: The Love Keys - Kirtan
05.12. HAMBURG: Debapriya Adhikary - Vocals
07.12. BAYREUTH: Pulsar Trio - Sitar, Piano, Drums
08.12. A - WERNSTEIN/INN: Indian Air - Sitar Diaries
08.12. POTSDAM: Sebastian Dreyer - Sitar
08.12. FREIBURG: Pulsar Trio - Sitar, Piano, Drums
09.12. F - PARIS: Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande - Vocal
09.12. KÖLN: Satyaa & Pari - Kirtan
11.12. BAD MEINBERG: The Love Keys - Kirtan
14.12. HAMBURG: The Love Keys - Kirtan
15.12. WEDEL: The Love Keys - Kirtan
15.12. MUNICH: Satyaa & Pari - Kirtan
16.12. ECKERNFOERDE: The Love Keys - Kirtan
18.12. F - PARIS: Philippe Bruguière - Rudra Vina
22.12. HALBERSTADT: The Love Keys - Kirtan
31.12. BAD MEINBERG: The Love Keys - Kirtan