News 2008

Utsavam – Music from India

Exhibition now open at the Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, London
Saturday 9^th February - Sunday 2^nd November 2008   

Utsavam – Music from India was officially opened on 6 February 2008 by His Excellency Mr Ashoke Mukerji, Deputy High Commissioner of India.

Utsavam – Music from India, co-curated by Rolf Killius of the Kala Collective, displays over 300 instruments and many filmed musical performances of the village-dwelling majority of India’s population, including the Adivasi (indigenous) groups whose music remains relatively unknown.

Represented are the performance arts of the temple musicians and priests of rural Kerala, singer-storytellers in the state of Punjab, musician-farmers of the villages of the Sora groups (who are among the Adivasi of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh), members of fishing and farming communities on the river island of Majuli in Assam, and communities in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh on the border with China.

Each section of the exhibition conveys information about the geographical, social and cultural environment in which the musicians from the different areas of India work. Section themes include, for example, ‘The Hills and Forests’ and ‘The Coastal Plain’. These exhibition themes reflect the contrasting terrains that are sources for the raw materials for instruments.

London-based communities of Indian heritage provide a further dimension to Utsavam - Music from India, with a dedicated community space in the exhibition, plus workshops and performances throughout 2008.
 

The exhibition encompasses all things 'inspired by Bollywood' - from film posters and costume to contemporary printmaking and sculpture. Iconic images from the National Media Museum, Bradford will be on show alongside the Kananda Collection of hand painted Bollywood film hoardings and an exhibition of film stills from Kamat Photo Flash in Mumbai, India. During the exhibition Stafford Gatehouse Theatre will be screening a selection of Bollywood films. For further details see www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk.

April 2007

Click here to read Rolf's new article 'The Future of the Past's Music', published in a booklet produced by “Sutton Subrang” for the 'Sitar Festival' on 5/6 May 2007 at the Bhavan, Indian Cultural Centre in London.

28.10.2006 Rolf Killius' CD  'Voices For Humans, Ancestors and Gods' reviewed by Derek Beres at http://globalbeatfusion.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_globalbeatfusion_archive.html

Street Music from India

VOICES FOR HUMANS, ANCESTORS AND GODS (Topic)

In 1996 the British Library Sound Project assigned Rolf Killius to journey through India to record street music that is regionally popular, though relatively unknown beyond the continent. A decade and 400 hours later and the label somehow chopped it down to 13 rough, raw and gorgeous songs. This CD is truly a gem, breaking outside the three most popular exports of Indian music: the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions; Bollywood’s global rule; and the ritual chants of bhakti yoga (not to mention the Asian Massive and Underground electronica). The call-and-response “Chenchu Lakshmi,” a tale of love lost and suicide, opens brilliantly. Performed by musicians of the Daasari community in the southeastern region of Andhra Pradesh, the tinny clicks of symbols and grating vocals prove penetratingly lucid. Many of these songs follow similar format – sudden breaks with lyrical interludes, tempo and tonal changes out of seeming nowhere. This is an emotional music, guided not by structure as much as feeling, which builds a solid foundation. The remainder of the folk material covers funeral songs, tales of naming babies and earthly creation, and stunning numbers from the Odissi and Orissa traditions, like the harmonium-led bhajan “Loda mo na thila golaka.” A dedication to Vishnu, the repetitious lyrics remind listeners “I only want your blessings, nothing else.” In the philosophy of Vedic and Hindu culture, the individual is but a part of a whole in which no separation between subject and object exists. Hence when they sing for each other, they sing for the entire planet. Thanks to Killius’s sturdy ear and own devotion, this elegant and rich album is reaching the intended audience.

posted by Derek Beres @ 18:59  

http://globalbeatfusion.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_globalbeatfusion_archive.html

This Review will also be published in the next edition of American folk magazine, SingOut. The CD is also included in the Songlines 'Discover a World of Music' buyer's guide 2006 to
world music.