Music with wildlife at Ranthambhore 2019
In a fitting finale to this year’s musical activities, 2019’s Ranthambhore Music & Wildlife Festival is scheduled between December 27 and 29 at the Nahargarh Palace in Ranthambhore, Rajasthan.
The Ranthambhore Music & Wildlife Festival 2019, often recognised as one of India’s more unique festivals, provides an experience celebrating music and art with nature and wildlife.
Spread across two nights and three days, the festival brings to its audience a special experience which, in the past, has staged musical performances by artists from France, Germany, Israel, neighbouring Bangladesh and, needless to say, mother India.
Peter Cat Recording Co is one of the headlining acts of the Ranthambhore Music & Wildlife Festival 2019, and is followed by the amazing Mame Khan, who I had viewed performing at an early edition of Paddy Fields, Naezy, Arko Mukherjee Collective, Lifafa, and Rasika Shekar, among others, performing multi-genres including folk, rock, jazz, hip-hop, and electronica.
Along with the music, the Ranthambhore Music & Wildlife Festival 2019 also promises facilities of exploring wildlife jungle safaris, live music concerts in step-well swimming pools and stone amphitheaters, block printing and pottery workshops, star gazing, malt tasting, and a scrumptious feast of local and international cuisine, culminating with a bustling flea market, on the fly as it were, selling local art and handicrafts.
Revel in an experience that serves music, and nature too!
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ARTIST PROFILES
- Peter Cat Recording Co.
The Delhi based Indie Band consists of five members: Suryakant Sawhney, the lead singer and guitarist; Karan Singh, the drummer; Dhruv Bhola, who plays bass and samples; Rohit Gupta on Keys and Trumpet; and Kartik Sundareshan Pillai, who plays keyboards, guitar, electronics and trumpet. Arguably India’s most popular Indie band in recent times, they have been playing at various festivals and have risen to global fame with their new album Bismillah. They are most known for their incredible talent and indefinable sound.
- Lifafa
The front man for Peter Cat Recording Co, Suryakant Sawhney has been releasing electronic music under the moniker Lifafa for a few years now. Blessed with a warm, lush baritone that’s reminiscent of a bygone era, Sawhney has coupled it with distinctive, layered production.
This amalgamation has made his production work as Lifafa stand out amongst the crowded releases in South Asia.
- Naezy
Naved Shaikh aka Naezy is a Mumbai rapper who dabbles in Hindi and Urdu lyrics. Naezy has quickly become a rising star in the Indian hip-hop scene, all thanks to his impressive flow and slang-inflected rhymes. In April 2015, Naezy took the country by storm with his definitive hit ‘Mere Gully Mein’ in collaboration with fellow Mumbai rapper Divine and Sez, which racked up 1.3 million views on YouTube and became a viral hit. Naezy’s story inspired filmmaker Disha Rindani to create a short film titled Bombay 70, which went on to win the Silver Gateway of India award for Best Short Film at the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI).
- Mame Khan
Mame Khan also known as the signature Folk voice of Rajasthan, has taken an ancient musical legacy from the golden Thar Desert to the screens of Bollywood and to more than 60+ countries, celebrating the finest of Folk Fusion with the 21th century audience. Known as an exceptional live performer, famed as a Bollywood playback singer, celebrated for his super hit on Coke Studio, awarded for his unique compositions and loved for his colorful persona – Rajasthan’s Folk music earned global recognition through the voice of Mame Khan.
- Rasika Shekar
A Berklee College of Music alum, Rasika’s music is an amalgam of decades of learning in the Carnatic and Hindustani classical tradition of music. She effortlessly fuses her rooted Indian sensibilities with global influences. She has performed with greats like John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan, Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan & Shujaat Ali Khan, been a Playback Singer for Bollywood films such as 2 States, Kill Dill, Katti Batti, Love Games and staged her own production at the World Flute Festival in Delhi in 2014.
- Nathulal Solanki’s Nagada Ensemble
The 12-person Nagada ensemble is led by Nathulal Solanki – musical maestro who has been playing the nagadas for several years now, performing all over India & with artists such as Prem Joshua, Indian Ocean, Susheela Raman, amongst others.
The thunderous Nagada Drums playing in Unison experience has been showcased at numerous festivals across the country.
- Ditty
As an urban ecologist by day and a musician by night, Goa-based Aditi Veena aka Ditty creates music that is rampant with a love for the earthly and organic. Her folk-tinged songs reflect her firm belief in music as a tool for change.
- Funk Assassin
Funk Assassin is a continuation of DJ Amul’s bass avatar, who fine-tuned his craft as a DJ at Zenzi and Zenzi mills, two of Bombay’s legendary nightlife venues, renowned for their tastes in music and art, forward-thinking bookings.
Funk Assassin has performed at several festivals and shows including the Colombo Jazz & Blues Festival as the Rynosax Collective & the Orchid Music Gala Festival in Gangtok, which was first of its kind in Sikkim.
- The Arko Mukhaerjee Collective
Arko Mukhaerjee is one of the most unique vocalists from the independent folk music scene in India, equally versatile with European, African, Middle-Eastern, American and Indian folk songs along with blues, soul and several tribal music forms from India and Bengal in particular.
His band – The Arko Mukhaerjee Collective is a collaboration with a group of incredibly versatile musicians, having played together at the international sufi festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2015.
- Sameer Rahat
Sameer Rahat is a writer, performer and film music composer/producer based out of Mumbai. Apart from working as a film music composer at his very own Baqsa Studios, he also plays his own brand of Urdu-blues music, experimenting with the poetry of contemporary and progressive Urdu poets from the Indian subcontinent.
