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Thank you for the music

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.

Strike a chord Dinesh Khundrakpam and Felix Antao of the Bangalore School of Music lulled with Fado music

Four evenings, an orchestra of instruments, a stage and beyond. They swung and crooned like blues artists, swayed like jazz musicians, hopped like reggae dancers, and head-banged like rockers.

With blues and jazz, carnatic and rock, metal and fado, reggae and techno, singers and instrumentalists performed popular forms of world music at the Fete de la Musique at the Alliance Francaise.

From a school concert, a rock jam, a musical recital, live music act to an audition space — Alliance Francaise became the gratis jukebox — with musicians picking up their guitars and drums, Salsa dancers whirling away both inside and outside.

Starting with cover versions of Avril Lavigne and James Blunt to some solo performances of self-composed music, it moved on to some painful renditions on the flute, also making World Music Day a platform of hopeful musicians.

Guitarists Dinesh Khundrakpam and Felix Antao of the Bangalore School of Music lulled with Fado music, luring you to the balmy climes of Portugal where alleys come alive with buskers. They also played some lilting Spanish tunes with their mesmerising twangs of the guitars.

From soothing Fado, the Chronic Blues Circus hypnotised blues lovers with Raman on the saxaphone, flute and keyboards, Kiran on drums, Hemanth on guitar, Venkatesh on bass and vocals, Peter Isaac on vocals and harps, Miriam on vocals, harps and percussion, Van Olsen on electric violin and other guest performers.

The Chronic Blues Circus was a captivating ensemble. Their improvisations and rhythms truly energising. And you couldn’t get enough of them. The second evening was quite interesting. Different styles of Carnatic music took over with Maye, a bunch of young pre-adolescent girls, Bhumika, Mythili, Varsha and Sridevi, supervised by Mythili Anantharaman and music by Gopal Navale of Esperanto.

It was an uninspiring, rehearsed school concert with predictable chants and their extended family cheering them on. The music was bland with a banal background score accompanied by Nitesh on keys, Gopal on mandolin and Michael Sorensen on xylophone. “Taalization” was downright amateurish with recorded electronic music playing in the background. While the affected artists attempted to enthral with carnatic music, it was accompanied by monotonous, uncomplimentary techno. “Ragapella” was the NRI boy-band who blended a cappella and ragas. Overdressed in sherwanis, Ragapella’s act was never-ending and grossly overdone. Tamil and Hindi numbers in a capella led by a bunch of American-educated boys swinging their arms and beat-boxing certainly cannot be categorised as world music.

“Voice of Peace” was a welcome breather. A bunch of young enterprising students from the Ivory Coast enchanted with reggae and catchy beats. The music was so lively and the musicians so vivacious that most of us even stood up to hop to their beats right to the end.

While Schickados brought in jazz fusion on the third evening, the last night was a night to remember. Plunge with Chethan on vocals, song-writer Rahul, Paul on lead guitar, Clifford on bass guitar and Nikhil on drums were out of the ordinary. Their style of alternative rock was distinctive and singer Chethan took the compositions far with thoughtful lyrics.

Bangalore’s famous rock band the Galeej Gurus ruled the evening with their energetic stage presence and class. Slain was a rage, but one felt that they went overboard with their stage act. The night closed with reggae and blues. Voice of Peace and followed by Chronic Blues Circus who returned with a bang onstage with their vibrant music. And when you stepped outside, there were drummers whose beats echoed through the evening, a solo guitarist who sang his heart out on the steps and salsa swingers who drew enthusiastic crowds. World Music Day was a festival of sounds generated from a blues harp, a Portuguese guitar and a throaty metal voice.

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