The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Music straight from the heart

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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Music straight from the heart

Titi Robin Trio, the three musicians from France, describe their style as something which is not defined by boundaries

In harmony: Francis Varis on accordion, Titi Robin on guitar and Ze Luis on drums presenting a show, organised by the Alliance Francaise, in the city on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: They prefer to describe their music as a bridge between India and France. They also describe their style as something which is not defined by boundaries and the listener would find Jazz, Rajasthani folk, gypsy and even Arab influence, all weaved seamlessly.

For the Titi Robin Trio, the three musicians from France who gave a live performance at HICC, Madhapur, on Friday, music is a language to touch people’s soul.

“You could bring the best musicians from all continents on one platform, but they will fail to connect unless rendered from the heart,” says Titi Robin, the lead on guitar and ‘oud’ of the band.

The trio draws a lot of influence from their cultural backgrounds. The percussionist Ze Luis is from Brazil and that element shows in their music.

“He has got the rhythm, which is so entrenched in the Brazilian culture. We don’t sit and plan out, we just improvise and try to gauge the response from the crowd,” says Francis Varis, the accordion player of the band.

The trio are not averse to experiments. “We have been working with Rajasthani folk artists since 1984. Along with Rajasthani folk dancer Gulabi Sapera, I have been associated for a long time and done a lot of concerts world over. We have also worked with tabla player Hamid Khan on several occasions,” Titi says.

The group has also recorded for a Tamil film directed by Yuhi Sethu. “They invited us and asked us to listen to a few compositions. We tried to improvise and give our interpretations to their music,” recalls Francis.

A complete self-taught, Tito says that their style is not traditional and also should not be dubbed as fusion. “We grew up on gypsy, Arabic and French music. We try to harmonise the three into one,” he explains.

The trio will be staging similar events at Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigarh and Jodhpur music festivals in the near future.

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