The best of three worlds

There’s something magical about a seamless blend of different styles of music.  Which is why the performance of ‘Trio Saiyuki’, a group of three instrumentalists with different musical roots, was a treat for the ears.

Consisting of musical strains from India, Japan and Vietnam, the fused result was indeed worth experiencing.The group comprises Nguyen Le, of Vietnamese descent, on the electric guitar; Mieko Miyazaki, from Japan, on the koto, a many-stringed Japanese
instrument; and Prabhu Edouard, a tabla specialist.

Together, the talented musicians played a range of pieces that incorporated the best of all three musical traditions.The evening began with Nguyen Le warming up his guitar and playing a few solo riffs. He then played in perfect coordination with Prabhu, on the tabla.
The two displayed perfect coordination for a few minutes, keeping the audience on their toes with a series of staccato notes and abrupt pauses in their composition.

Their performance had a sense of unorthodoxy about it. Prabhu added to the medley of sounds they were creating by thumping on an upturned matka, and even tapping his cheeks and chin in time with Nguyen Le’s guitar playing.

They then dove into full melody, with Mieko Miyazaki joining them on the koto.
The first piece they played was a composition by Mieko herself, and hence had quite an oriental touch about it. It was called ‘The Warmth of June’, and was a beautiful melody with refreshing notes and rhythm.

Mieko’s koto was so large that at times she had to literally climb over it to play some of the deeper notes — but the wonderful, sharp sounds it produced were well worth it.

Another one of the memorable pieces they played was ‘Magic Constant’, which had been composed by Nguyen Le.

It had very precise, sharp notes and the tabla lent a touch of Indian classical music to it.
The melody had a very refreshing feel and a soothing quality to it.

Speaking about this opportunity to play for a Bangalore audience, Nguyen Le said, “It’s great to be playing in this City for the first time. For Mieko and me, India has  been a huge source of inspiration for our music for so many years.”