World Music Series
The World Music Series presents musicians of international stature representing diverse cultures in a series of public concerts at Brandeis University. In the intimate setting of Slosberg Recital Hall, each concert invites the audience to experience the history, cultural memories - indeed, the heart and soul of a people through the autobiographical narrative of music.
Free pre concert talks before World Music Concerts at the Rose Art Museum, 7 pm - 7:45 pm.
Tickets to the World Music Concerts at Brandeis Tickets: (781) 736-3400.
Shubha Mudgal: Passageways of the Soul Pre-Concert Talk "A Walk Through a Khyal Recital"
“As her full throated voice filled the rotunda, my heart stood still. In turns, tears welled up in my eyes and I felt elated and enthralled. At times I looked up to the blue sky, and wondered if the spirits of Akbar, Jehangir and Shahjahan were hearing this celestial voice. For me it was the experience of a lifetime.” Khushwant Singh, The Sunday Observer From a living tradition extending back thousands of years, Shubha Mudgal’s richly textured voice takes the listener on a musical journey that draws inspiration from medieval Sufi poetry, romantic love, and the paradoxes of modern life. Mudgal’s music, whether heard on stage or in film, explores the hidden passageways of the soul, balancing extraordinary discipline and breathtaking virtuosity with the improvisation of the imagination. Join Shubha Mudgal and musicians Aneesh Pradhan, tabla; Sudhir Nayak, harmonium; and Murad Ali, sarangi on Saturday, October 18 for an evening of North Indian classical music, as these consummate artists illuminate the beloved Hindustani styles, from the profound beauty of Khyal to the sensuous imagery of Thumri. This concert concludes a four-day residency, part of the MusicUnitesUS Intercultural Residency Series at Brandeis University. We invite you to share in these four days of open classes, discussions, film, concerts, and workshops as we explore the many facets of Shubha Mudgal’s work and commitments, ranging from South Asian poetics and spirituality to Indian cinema, pop music and the Internet! |
Nettle: Music for a Nu World
Pre-Concert Talk "Nettles, Neighbors, and Nu World Music" Residency Events:March 19-21, 2009 (view schedule)
The Barcelona-based project unites musicians from three continents: Moroccan violin virtuoso Abdel Rahal, Scottish cellist Jenny Jones, American producer Jace Clayton (aka Rupture), and Moroccan gnawa musician Khalid Bennaji on guembri and vocals (in Arabic and Tamazight). The musicians are all 'resident aliens' living in Spain and communicate in Spanish, everyone's second language. New York visual artist Daniel Perlin works directly with Nettle, creating live cinema through realtime video projections. Using original material and cutting-edge software, Perlin has constructed a series of environments for each song, where the ideas and feelings produced by the audio both infect and effect the video, just as the video completes the visual space of the performance. The WIRE Magazine described Nettle's potent multimedia mix as "fresh, disruptive. . . dedicated to the shifting street music of North Africa, southern Spain and the wider diaspora." Nettle has performed across Europe at festivals such as SONAR in Barcelona and Berlin's Transmediale, and have played live twice on BBC 1 radio. Nettle has toured the U.K. with Nass El Ghiwane, one of Morocco's most important musical groups, often referred to as "The Rolling Stones of Africa". Nettle has released two albums, Build A Fort, Set That On Fire (2002, The Agriculture), and Firecamp Stories: Nettle remixed (2004, The Agriculture). Their new album, a recording of a live performance in Denmark, is scheduled to be released early 2008. The band's websites: Review for Jace Clayton's latest project as DJ /Rupture. Critical acclaim as usual -- From DJ Rupture’s (aka Jace Clayton) piece for the New York Fine “In addition to my activities as DJ/rupture, I make music as Nettle. Nettle originated in my fascination with the concept of an album heavily influenced by Middle Eastern ideas, but not necessarily at the audible level. I was unsatisfied with the narrative poles of electronic music—loop-based dance pieces or abstract/ambient pieces without storytelling force. A suite of rigorous modal improvisation in Arabic music called taqasims offered the solution: I knew and loved their internal play between free-flowing improv and strict technical guidelines. I spent a year or two translating these ideas into pieces for samplers and laptop. Two albums later I still wasn't satisfied: one-way cultural flows aren't good enough. I wanted community,two-way translations, the squeal of a feedback loop. Earlier this year I was commissioned by a British arts council to transform Nettle into a proper live ensemble. Violin, oud, percussion, electronics,realtime sampling. I'd been involved in Barcelona's Moroccan music community for a while, but the Nettle project has upped the intensity of collaboration. A few days ago, Nettle's violin and oud player, Abdelaziz Hak, brought up taqasims to explain his response to a beat I'd prepared for him. I broke into a silly grin. This is working. We're starting to get under each other's skin.” |
