{"id":417,"date":"2018-09-20T09:28:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T09:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sudeepaudio.com\/blog\/?p=417"},"modified":"2020-07-02T07:26:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T01:56:45","slug":"paddy-fields-provides-a-classical-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sudeepaudio.com\/saundcheck\/paddy-fields-provides-a-classical-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddy Fields provides musical folks a classical focus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The major season for live musical events has commenced with promotions in full swing for now established events that have been building their successes, through the years, in not only showcasing established talent, but by supporting indie talent too! Events that immediately come to mind are Sunburn, which is scheduled to commence in Pune on December 29. Prior to that is the nine-year-old NH7 Weekender, also scheduled in Pune, on December 7, and its Meghalaya brethren, scheduled from November 2. But, in all this, the privilege of \u201copening\u201d this season\u2019s live festivities as it were, on October 6 and 7, goes to Mumbai\u2019s now annual Paddy Fields<\/strong> festival. Click here to book the tickets >><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Curated by Turnkey Music and Publishing<\/em>, which is headed by industry doyen Atul Churamani<\/strong>, and organised by NESCO events, this event makes subtle amendments to its folk-based avatar on a year on year basis, which is precisely what makes it so unique. Promoting the third season is initiated with another brilliant concept that further explores the realms of Indian music by addressing an age old question:
\nDid Indian classical music have its origins in folk music?<\/em><\/p>\n

While there is no denying that folk and classical music are two distinct genres, the theme of this year\u2019s Paddy Fields attempts to find an answer whether that was always the case or was it that \u2013 through the years, through evolution, and through their exponents \u2013 both genres were forced into separate paths? The simple distinction here between the two is that folk music is a free flowing form with little or no parameters, while classical music follows distinctive patterns of melody and rhythm with acceptable variants.<\/p>\n

In an effort to achieve a logical conclusion, Paddy Fields has created the concept of \u201cJugalbandi: The Classicism Of Folk Fusion<\/strong>\u201d this year (i.e. Oct 6 and 7, 2018), an event where the structured meet free form, musical boundaries are pushed, stories are told through raga, and musical walls are broken.<\/p>\n

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Shantanu Moitra<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

To support these descriptions, there are several potential highlights in store. For starters, music director Shantanu Moitra, who I first connected with in 1999 as part of the team at EMI India [then Virgin Records] that recorded \u2018Ab Ke Sawan\u2019 with Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal, focuses on ‘Music From The Himalayas’, performed by vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty, Tibetan monk Ani Choying, and classical sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee.<\/p>\n

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Viva La Goa<\/p><\/div>\n

Another high point is likely to be a make-shift band, especially created for this festival, called Viva La Goa<\/em>, where Konkani, Portuguese, and even strains of western classical music are combined, led by keyboard wizard Merlin D\u2019Souza, and supported by sax prodigy Rhys Sebastian, among others.<\/p>\n

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Manganiyaar Classroom<\/p><\/div>\n

Then there is the \u2018Manganiyar\u2019 classroom, which features children aged between eight and 12, undertaking a ‘jugalbandi’ with their teacher, with a repository consisting of song, dance, and rhythm. And no musical event can ignore Bollywood, and neither does Paddy Fields, as the curators have requested music director Amit Trivedi to explore folk music pan-India and demonstrate live how he weaves it into film songs. A country fusion of sorts!<\/p>\n