happy 10th birthday // ethnotechno.com :)
As India celebrates its 64th year of independence, across the world in New York – a pioneering movement and website turns 10.
Today, ETHNOTECHNO.COM celebrates its 10th year online … had it not been for Sankar Sury aka dimmSummer and his vision of bringing asiatic electronica and global beats to the masses … this blog – nada:brahma would never have existed.
I’ve said this many times, ETHNOTECHNO.COM has been, is and always will be a source of inspiration and knowledge for all the music I blog about. All the hardwork and dedication to the scene (both on and offline) has benefited so many people in so many ways!
Sank, thank you for everything from nada:brahma and the readers … may you continue ETHNOTECHNO.COM for another 10years and many more after!
Big Respects to the NYC fam x
dimmsummer presents: SUBcontinentalBASS
BBC Radio Mixes
nu asian soundz (2010)
REVOLUTION RISING: ethnotechno.com vol.1 presented by dimmSummer [usa version 2009]
HUB – Indian Electronica Yearbook Project (2010)
WOWSERS! I’ve found out that my site, nadabrahman.wordpress.com has been featured in the India’s first book on electronica music – HUB presented by Goethe‐Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, Music Gets Me High & Samrat B.
HUB is India’s first and only anthology of electronic music – a legitimate record of everything that’s past and currently happening in terms of music, artists, events and more. The book hopes to create further awareness of Indian electronica via distribution of information, which has not been done before. The published material will serve as an official statement for and about the people involved in this field and give a much‐needed voice to this rising subculture.
This book includes a brief history of electronic music and the impact of technology on music in India from 1982 when Charanjit Singh graced us with “Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat” to the current scene.
There’s a complete list profiles of electronic bands & DJ’s, each containing detailed information about the artist, their discography and contact information. Covers 60 plus artists from India and Indians settled abroad.
HUB also has a collection of features to highlight and critically examine the impact of electronic music in India with respect to prevailing tastes, lifestyle, clubs and the various fringe and lesser‐known facets of this rising subculture.
The Resources section of the book will be most beneficial to music industry counterparts when they want to establish a working relationship with India. It contains information and contact details of most:
Artist Booking & Management Agencies // Venues // Labels // Online Music sites // Sound & equipment vendors
Guest features by:
- Randolf Correia (Shaa’ir + Func),
- Ma Faiza, (Premier DJ)
- Varun Desai (Promoter & Owner – Littlei)
- Pathaan (BBC Asian Network, UK)
This book is defo worth checking out especially for a newbie into the world of electronica rather than someone already familiar with the genre.
Read more about HUB:
http://audiopervert.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-15-2011.html
DOWNLOAD HUB – (Hi-rez PDF Format – Limited Edition 2011)
shaanti @ cargo, saturday 12th june
People! Shaanti marks 11 Years in the Music Industry with the celebration of their residency at Cargo
The night will include some fantastic names like:
Time: 8.00pm til 4.00am
Address: Cargo, 83 Rivington Street, Shoreditch. London EC2A 3AY
Price: Doors Open at 8, Free before 11, £5 before 12.00 and £10 after all night.
Info: 07968 366878 // 07968 260276
a revolution rising in INDIA!
It was only at the tail end of last month I blogged about this next album https://nadabrahman.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/revolution-rising/
Now this month, the founder of ethnotechno.com – dimmSummer, is making waves and noiz in the motherland … Why? because his first compilation album release REVOLUTION RISING: ethnotechno.com vol.1 presented by dimmSummer has been picked up by Universal Music India. OH YEAH!
When the background score to a Bollywood hit film is composed by underground dance music icons Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale, you know something’s brewing in the realm of Indian left-field electronica. While electronic music split open international consciousness with the Goa trance scene, it evolved with the Punditz and Kale on the Karthik Calling Karthik soundtrack. Today we have arrived at what is perhaps the finest collection of electronic dance music to hit the Indian nation, Revolution Rising: ethnotechno.com vol. 1 (Universal Music India).
This is certainly not trance, however. New York City-based producer dimmSummer has been involved in this scene for over a decade, as both visionary graphic and web designer, as well as with his innovative radio station, EthnoTechno.com, which can be considered a blueprint for this sixteen-track compilation. The movement that he helped front is poised to move above ground in the subcontinent’s musical mindset, and with this album, we are one step closer to the future of music in India.
Building from his personal relationship with all the artists on Revolution Rising (originally released on High Chai Recordings), dimmSummer handpicked a number of exclusive tracks from this impressive roster of talent. Given the broad reach of his website, and the devoted fans it has acquired, nobody else could have possibly assembled such an album. It quickly gets to the throbbing heart of the underground dance scene, presenting a thick exploration of dubstep, chillout, D&B, and thriving electro.
Exclusive tracks by tabla wizard Karsh Kale with ghazal master Vishal Vaid (“Sunbeam”), as well as pioneering DJ Cheb i Sabbah (“Morey Pya Bassey -The Arch Cupcake Remix), make this a must-have for fans of either. A world of South Asian sound arrives via rarely heard tracks and remixes by Asian Dub Foundation, Transglobal Undergound, State of Bengal, Niraj Chag, Genetic Drugs and Rohan.
Of course, Midival Punditz appear with the inspired “Tonic,” and NYC crew Goonda rocks a heavy beat on a RiddemKillah remix of their song, “Fearless,” featuring MC Zulu on vocals. Nucleya, a former partner in Bandish Projekt, reinvents the RD Burman classic, Mehbooba. Finishing in fine form, dimmSummer himself has his hypnotizing way with Bob Holroyd’s operatic “Light Water.”
Bollywood has long dominated the music scene in mainstream India. Today people are realizing there is a world more out there, and it seems an opportune time for this groundbreaking electronica to slide into the mix. Industry giant Universal Music India’s optioning of Revolution Rising is a necessary first step in this bold new sonic world, one that will certainly help define the next decade and beyond in India.
gig alert: here at last …
After months and for some of us years of anticipation … they are finally here … the gig we have ALL been waiting for … Karsh Kale and the dynamic duo of Asian electronica Tapan Raj and Gaurav Raina better known as the MIDIval PunditZ will grace us with their presence together with Bobby Friction on Saturday 29th May 2010.
It’s been described as “global groove music”, but Karsh Kale & MIDIval Punditz’s sound is much more than that. Together, they weave influences from drum ‘n’ bass, Sufi music, deep house, centuries-old ghazals, rock, trip-hop, North and South Indian classical and folk music, trance, Jamaican dancehall and more. It’s a tight acoustic-electronic soundscape that – devoid of fusion clichés – blends evocative singing, instrumental melodies, ambient drone and funky, intricate amplified beats with ballsy intelligence and infectious energy.
Details:
Location : RICH MIX35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA BOX
Box Office : 020 7613 7498
Email : boxoffice@richmix.org.uk
Website : http://www.richmix.org.uk
Book Online: http://www.richmix.org.uk/aandc_karsh.htm
Naina Laagey – Karsh Kale & Midival Punditz (Live at Paleo Fest 09)
Epic (Remix) – Karsh Kale & Midival Punditz (Live at Paleo Fest 09)
Talvin Singh & Niladri Kumar, Manchester – 25.Sept.09
A review of my first Talvin Singh gig I attended last year:
2001, I was accidentally introduced to Talvin Singh by listening to a cassette labelled “OK” initiating my passion for Asian Underground.
I wouldn’t describe it as a concert but more an intimate transmission showcasing pioneering talent that reshaped the way we see and listen to music. Being fortunate enough to have arrived quite early (as opposed to IST), seating was on the front row, where both maestros where less than a meter away.
From the first strike of the Tablas, I was captivated by the taal which resonated through the speakers. You never fully appreciate music until you actually see it coming to life in front of your very eyes. Like artists with a blank canvas they orchestrated some of the finest audio paintings imaginable!
The night consisted of an array of styles, ranging from elements of dub, drum n bass, electronica and classical, all beautifully amalgamated into their performances that intensified one after another. The energy and drama with which the artists played was remarkable, the unison between them and their respective instruments was quite magical. Knowing what to strike, how, where and when, knowing their instruments like they know themselves.
Like a book, the music was being read through their smiles, acknowledging each others immeasurable talents communicating in a way only musicians can. Both sat on stage evoking feelings and emotions that are not familiar to words, indefinable, yet familiar to us all. The very sight was electric!
Talvin Singh – a visionary and pioneer. Niladri Kumar – someone who I think is a true personification of music. You witness someone who is one with the Sitar. Who is Niladri and who is the sitar? His whole body swayed with his instrument, creating reverb by simply moving the instrument itself, to his emotions and facial expressions whilst playing. There is no clear distinction; all you witness is a true state of musical harmony.
The finale was truly magnificent. Nildari introduced it as being played in the Bhairavi raaga but it was an improvisation piece which they were relying on each other to make something from it. While playing Niladri managed to some how sneak in Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Deep Purples – Smoke on the Water without adulterating the original piece and providing bit of comedy hehe.
Over the years I had built up certain expectations of Talvin Singh (and more recently of Niladri Kumar), that I was beginning to think was it wrong of me to do so, but you cant help it if you’re a fan. As the concert went on each expectation I had turned to dust and was blown away by their performance.
WE HAVE MOVED TO NADABRAHMA.CO.UK 