An evening of fusion songs

Musical talent

This event was held with the intention of showcasing a blend of several diverse styles of musical. This fusion was accompanied by a complete mastery over the instruments being played, which made it a real treat for the ear.

The concert included talented musicians such as Chitravina N Ravikiran, a recipient of several awards such as the Kalaimamani Award by the Tamil Nadu Government; Carnatic vocalist Sudha Raghunathan; and the American slide-guitarist Billy Cardine, a genre-blurring musician who is the first international artiste to be a part of this festival.

These notables were accompanied by Akkarai Subblakshmi on the violin, and K V Prasad on the mridangam, as well as Giridhar Udupa on the ghatam and Krishna Kishor on the rhythm pad. They

treated the assembled crowd to a performance of fusion music, incorporating these traditional Indian instruments as well as Billy Cardine’s playing of the slide guitar.

The evening began with a varnam in rithigowla ragam. Lively and energetic, it made for a good start to the show, and impressed the crowd greatly. This traditional piece was followed by a composition by Billy Cardine himself called ‘Concrete Garden’, which catered to the younger members of the audience with its lively and contemporary feel.

This was followed by a wonderful fusion piece called the ‘Rhythm of Sound’, which was rendered in chittaranjani ragam. Played in a unique blend of traditional Indian and Western styles, it was a wonderfully composed piece that went very well with the crowd.

While Sudha Raghunathan stunned with her impressive vocals, Billy Cardine also displayed a great mastery over the slide-guitar.

In an effort to do their bit to save the environment, this edition of the Bengaluru International Arts Festival 2011 has decided to launch a ‘Go Green’ campaign. In honour of this, all the artistes at the event were presented with fresh saplings rather than bouquets of flowers.

Talking about the event and his co-musician, Billy Cardine, Chitravina N Ravikiran said, “We wanted to bring Billy Cardine to this event so that the Bangalore audience, who are extremely forward-thinking, would hear some of the new sounds which are coming to be a part of world music. It is in this context that one should appreciate Billy’s contribution.”