Arts
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modern mesmerising mantra of fusion music The totality of this talented singer’s aural scope enveloped a Cassandra Wilson-Flora Purim melismatic richness couched in the hypnotic insistence of Afrocentric beat and electricity of King Sunny's Hi-Life flair melding the lyrical confluence of Ghazal, Tiruvachakum and a touch of pan-Arabic Rai, and fashioned more on Lydian and transcontinental modes than wrought upon the strictly well-tempered scales of Western tradition! In the more ‘intimate’ songs e.g. 'Meanwhile', the proximity of a sort of Holly Cole charm ensured the romantic balance in her performance. Clearly, this young singer is attempting to chart her own course in the milieu of modern song. Of considerable importance and vitality was her cohort of musicians and in particular Carlos Djamuno Dabo (a native of Guinea-Bissau, formerly Portuguese) a valuable auxiliary force whose presence and vocal contribution in Biafada (or Bidyola)- Kriolu, although brief, heightened the cross cultural reach and energy. Dabo was also a competent percussionist working tirelessly in keeping an edge with his powerful bongo drums, cymbals and pedal bass drum; in his hands even the acoustic guitar is a drum!! Susheela is not an improvising singer of either mould, mainstream of African-American or Carnatic. Rather hers is an interpretative approach which borrows largely from the established realm; the interpolations and ramifications are basically a reinvention of the song (chant or devotional) form, and the interplay was rarely spontaneous but was carefully crafted even in the use of loops and electronic delay devices. Guitarist Sam Mills (acoustic guitar, open-tuned Spanish guitar and electric) held the rhythmic and harmonic elements together exceptionally. Interestingly too, with his shifting of the instruments he dealt with different approaches to the modes, on occasion in the raghadari style and then later in the repetitive afrobeat, on another the boogaloo electric. One expected that there would have been more interplay including the very proficient Aref Durvesh (tabla and percussion); however, his was a supporting role. There was a miniscule vocalized entrée at one point in the proceedings, but it was as percussionist that his prowess was on display. Underpinning the elemental rhythmic pulse with just an occasional departure into an improvised solo was bassist Hilaire Penda (from Cameroon). Again, his was a largely supportive role, which persuasively brought Susheela into a zone inhabited by the likes of Angelique Kidjo. It was interesting to note the gradual warming of the audience, though not without some feisty encouragement from Ms. Raman. Soon the more susceptible adopted the pelvic-thrust while the demure were content with shifting their weight from one foot to the other through the different tempi ending up with an unmistakable ‘Jin Jiki-thang Thappu Thappu’! Susheela
embraces and celebrates the richness of difference Towards the end of this amazing performance, many couldn't hold back their pent-up energy anymore and were seen happily dancing along trying to match Susheela's high-spirited and titillating dances on stage. Susheela's interpretation of traditional Carnatic music was nothing short of amazing. The earthy sensuality that is more or less typical of Indian culture was exactly what was brought out in this music that one finds hard to categorize under any genre. Born in London in 1973 to South Indian parents, Susheela moved to Australia where she grew up singing South Indian classical music and giving recitals at an early age. As a teenager she branched out into more blues-based music, which demanded different voice techniques. Returning to England in 1997, Susheela started to work with Sam Mills (her husband) who had made a record 'Real Sugar' with Bengali singer Paban Das Baul. Their search for new and exciting ways to adapt the Carnatic songs she had sung when she was younger, particularly the work of 18th century song masters Tyagaraja and Dikshitar resulted in their own kind of resonant music. Her music is an evolving result of collaboration with some unique musicians who live mostly in London and Paris but are of diverse origins: Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, India, Romania, France, Greece, Egypt, Kenya, America, and Spain. The band that accompanied her in Colombo and Kandy included Hilaire Penda on bass guitar (Cameroon), Carlos Djanuno Dabo on percussion/ vocalist (Guinea Bissau) and Aref Duresh on Tabla (British/Asian). Susheela-with her mixed, second-generation migrant background, finds it natural and necessary to seek a confluence between the musical and cultural streams of her life. "It's all about embracing the cultures, uniting them and celebrating the difference," said Susheela at the end of the concert, once the fans had departed, clutching their autographs, photos and video clips and happy memories of a vibrant concert. She is thrilled with the receptive Colombo audience (while hoping that Kandy would bring more of the same), which she affirms is lovely and gushes that unlike in Chennai where they were stiff, the influence of the island culture was apparent because the body language here was relaxed. " I find Sri Lanka beautiful, welcoming,” she says. "I go by my feelings," the newly-married Susheela adds while smilingly adding that in creating the emotive lyrics it's not easy to state "where Sam ends and I begin-it is undefined." Salt Rain and Love Trap being two of her most sought after records, Susheela tells me that her latest is Music For Crocodiles. "It's about making music together, about contradictions and harmony…reconciliation, you can't pretend they are not there," she explains. Susheela Raman was the winner in the Newcomer category for the BBC3 World Music Awards a few years back. With a real global sound and a magnetic personality to match, it would be a short time indeed before the whole world will get to know her spellbinding voice and her own individual take on Indian classical, traditional Tamil and a smorgasbord of other world music. All proceeds from Susheela’s concert were for tsunami relief. ‘We
must know our culture to try new things’ This well-known director is involved in producing documentaries for various organisations including the United Nations Development Programme and the National Child Protection Authority. But he has no plans for any new teledramas. "I am satisfied with the teledramas I did during my early days, because today those types of teledramas are limited and the art of television production is not geared to producing quality programmes," says Nihal. Bertram Nihal's inroads into TV were through the stage. 'Thawalamai Thanabimai' and 'Siupa' are the two stage plays he started on during his schooldays. "After I left school, I did a diploma in TV production with a Canadian production team. Then I joined Rupavahini as a producer and worked for 10 years producing about 600 programmes, including teledramas such as 'Suba Prathana' and 'Gamperaliya', which was based on Martin Wickramasinghe's novel." Some of his productions such as 'Rupiyal Satha', 'Dadabima', 'Kadawara', Isurugira, and 'Bavana', created in his post-Rupavahini days are remembered by many."The producer should be able to understand human endeavours and try to influence people's feelings," says Nihal. Talking about the current situation in the TV scene he says, "Lot of people in the industry produce teledramas with a limited budget and drag the show time. This affects the quality. It happens when television channels get the teledramas for a small sum from the producers." "The importance of any art is to make the people feel the emotion that is being portrayed. For this there should be a rapport between the audience and the artiste. Today we have lost this. Sri Lanka experienced the golden age of art during the 1960s and 70s when our lifestyle was not so complex. A relaxed lifestyle is essential to create good work," says Nihal. Commenting on contemporary creations he said the new generation tried to move out of our cultural boundaries and picked up what they thought to be sophisticated tools. " I think to break away, we must first understand our own culture. Recently, many of us shut out cultural aspects and tried to discover new things. This change didn't bear fruit. Subsequently, we also lost the audience who appreciated art." He also said that the lack of trained personnel and training was a drawback for the industry. Teledramas apart, he is critical of current political programmes which he feels do not have an impact on people. "If you take the political programmes that were telecast ten years ago, you may not see any difference from those telecast currently. The media has a bigger responsibility than getting politicians from different parties and having them debating hot topics," he says. The answer to improving standards lies in solving the problems of the socioeconomic and political changes in the country. Giving due recognition for the audience, without considering them to be naïve, is also important, says this master of tele dramas. Now 47 years old, Nihal has his own production company concentrating on documentaries. Despite a busy schedule, Nihal says he finds time to be with his wife and three-year-old daughter. Building
bridges with music from all corners of the world Cellist Faisal Hussein travelled from Brazil to join as guest artiste and Lalanath de Silva (flute) and Ayesha Hussein (violin) joined from Geneva to present a number of nostalgic original compositions by Pradeep. The Concert for Peace was part of the initiatives by the Director General of the UN organization and international organizations in Geneva to commemorate the victims and collect relief for those affected by the tsunami on December 26. Director General Ordzhonikidze is to hand over the proceeds to the Permanent Missions of the affected countries in Geneva. The Permanent Representatives of Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka spoke of the devastating impact of the tsunami and thanked the international community for their unprecedented support, generosity and solidarity for the immense relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction effort which lies ahead. Balinese dancer Sinah Tordjman of Indonesia gave a poignant interpretation of the lament of the fishermen and Sudha Venkatram and Lakshmi Natarajan of India performed Carnatic classical music and offered prayers for peace. This multicultural concert bringing together performers from all corners of the globe, underlined the power of music to build cultural bridges and to promote peace and understanding. The Sri Lankan musicians also travelled to Lausanne at the invitation of the international sports federations to give a concert to raise funds for Sri Lankan sportsmen affected by the tsunami disaster. |
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