Urodzony w 1959 roku w Kenii Kuljit Bhamra to kompozytor, producent muzyczny, a przede wszystkim jeden z najbardziej cenionych na świecie wirtuozów tabli. Artysta z powodzeniem łączy brzmienie tego instrumentu z muzyką klasyczną, popularną i jazzem, oraz tradycyjne indyjskie rytmy z nowoczesną techniką nagraniową. Bhamra brał udział w nagrywaniu płyt takich artystów jak m.in. Ringo Starr, Sarah Brightman, Enrique Iglesias, czy Shakira, a milośnicy jazzu znać go mogą dzięki wieloletniej współpracy i trzech albumów nagranych z saksofonistą Andym Sheppardem.
Z kolei włoski perkusista i wokalista Davide Giovannini to muzyk mający za sobą współpracę z Paulem McCartneyem, Stevem Winwoodem, Bjork, Lisą Stansfield, Pet Shop Boys, Vanessą Mae, ale też z Royem Hargrovem i Johnem Scofieldem.
Obaj muzycy na stałe mieszkający w Londynie wraz z tamtejszym klasycznym kwartetem smyczkowym Villers Quartet, na płycie zatytułowanej "Spiders Tango" proponują muzykę pełną urzekających pejzaży dźwiękowych, zabierającą słuchacza w mistyczną podróż przez pustynie do tajemniczych świątyń i ukrytych jaskiń.
Album ukazał się 20 marca nakładem prowadzonej przez Kuljita Bhamrę wytwórni Keda Records.
Robert Ratajczak
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Kuljit Bhamra & Davide Giovannini: Spiders Tango
CD 2020, Keda Records KEDCD70
program:
1. Eastern Landscape
2. Road to Freedom
3. Spiders Tango
4. Lost Temples
5. Aerial Roots
6. Cave of Doubt
7. Renewal and Rebirth
8. River Journey
9. Wistful Horizons
10. Surreal Dancers
personel:
Kuljit Bhamra - tabla
Davide Giovannini - drum set
Villiers Quartet:
James Dickenson, Tamaki Higashi - skrzypce
Carmen Flores - altówka
Nick Stringfellow - wiolonczela
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materiały prasowe:
Concept Information
"Spiders Tango" is a collaboration between tabla player Kuljit Bhamra, drummer Davide Giovannini and the Villiers Quartet.
Presented here are captivating and seductive soundscapes that will take you on a powerful and mystical journey over deserts to lost temples and hidden caves. Davide Giovannini’s melodic drumming combine beautifully with Kuljit Bhamra’s unique multi tabla set and The Villiers Quartet’s strings to create percussion-led grooves and polyrhythms.
A distinctive and evocative sound world that is sometimes energetic and sometimes delicately melancholic.
Artist Information
* Kuljit Bhamra is the founder of Keda Records. He is a self-taught musician, composer and producer and has received numerous awards for his cutting-edge projects and contribution to British Asian music. His main instrument is the Tabla for which he invented a new universal notation system.
Kuljit has produced over 2000 songs and is responsible for the rise to fame of numerous Bhangra and Bollywood stars. A pioneer of the worldwide Bhangra phenomenon, he combined traditional Indian rhythms with western instruments and recording techniques, thus transforming Punjabi music into a new dance-floor sound.
Kuljit Bhamra is one of the most inspiring music producers in the British Indian music scene. He has worked, both independently and collaboratively, on film scores including the soundtrack for the award-winning Bhaji on the Beach, A Winter of Love, Bend it Like Beckham and appearances on The Guru, The Four Feathers, Brick Lane, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, A Little Princess, Wings of a Dove, Jadoo and CH4’s recent drama Indian Summers.
Kuljit worked on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Bombay Dreams as an on-stage percussionist, and then went on to write the Indian music for the West End musical The Far Pavilions. Other theatre productions include Deranged Marriage, Lion of Punjab, Hansel & Gretel, The Snow Queen, The Ramayana, Laila Majnun, King Cotton, Bombay Gold, Mapping the Edge, his own production Chutney in The Street! and the west end hit musical Bend it like Beckham. He also scored the music for the stage adaption of E M Forster’s famous novel A Passage to India in which he composed new music for Tabla, percussion and cello.
Kuljit was the last Artistic Director of The Society For The Promotion of New Music (spnm) – the first British Asian to hold this post in its 65-year history. During office there, Kuljit spearheaded innovative projects such as Bhangra Latina, Folk from Here and Raga Mela with the BBC Concert Orchestra. He also started work on developing a universal tabla notation system to allows students from differing backgrounds to learn the instrument and be able to write for it. His Read and Play Tabla books were later published in 2017 and were immediately adopted by music teachers in Portsmouth and Birmingham. In partnership with Exeter University and The Southbank Centre, Kuljit has created a touring exhibition called The Southall Story and a digital archive of the cultural history of Southall.
Born in Kenya, Kuljit contracted polio at the age of one. This affected his left leg and he walks with a cane for support. A resident of Southall since 1969, Kuljit tours extensively and collaborating with Jazz, Pop, Folk, Dance, Flamenco and Orchestral artists from all around the world. His unique kit includes snare drum, cymbals, hand percussion and a six-piece tabla set which enables him to play melody as well as rhythm.
Kuljit is the recipient of many awards including a platinum disc for outstanding record sales presented by the much-loved BBC Radio DJ, John Peel who was a big fan of his music. His cutting-edge projects and educational work earned him the prestigious award of MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list 2009. The citation reads ‘For Services to Bhangra & British Asian Music’ and is the first time that these genres have been acknowledged in this way.
In his mission to make Indian music and instrument-playing accessible to everyone, Kuljit has created a series of tutorial videos and educational tools to help Demystify Indian Music.
* Davide Giovannini is an Italian drummer, percussionist and vocalist (born in Trieste). He's been living in the UK since 1991. His search to explore various styles of drumming led him to Brazil where he studied Latin rhythms.
He has played and/or recorded with an impressive list of artists across all genres of music – including Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Bjork, Lisa Stansfield, Pet Shop Boys, Vanessa Mae, James Galway, Russell Watson, Roy Ayers, Roland Gift, Marlena Shaw, Cubanismo, Jocelyn Brown, Marcos Valle, Bebel Gilberto, Roy Hargrove, John Scofield, Dalata, Toninho Horta, Alex Wilson, Snowboy, Negrocan, Smoke City, Bobby Watson, Jim Mullen, Cleveland Watkiss Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers, Julian Stringle, Herman Olivera, Peven Everett, Down To The Bone, Zeep….the list almost endless.
* Named after Villiers Street in London's colourful musical epicentre, the Villiers Quartet encompasses the grand and iconic spirit of the extraordinary music tradition in London. Hailed as one of the most charismatic and "adventurous" quartets of the European chamber music scene The Strad, the Villiers Quartet has developed an international reputation for its performances of British music. Championing music which reflects Britain's rich musical heritage, the Villiers Quartet (VQ) has performed works by Elgar, Britten, Delius, William Sterndale Bennett, Robert Saxton, Kuljit Bhamra MBE, and Frank Bridge. The VQ has been praised for its "exquisite ensemble playing" Seen & Heard International, and its performances have been hailed as "masterful." Classical Source. The Villiers Quartet has been featured in numerous festivals including the North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, the Brit Jazz Fest, the Hungerford Arts Festival, and the British Music Society. The VQ's internationally profiled ‘VQ New Works Competition’ encourages audiences to interact with contemporary music performance online and supports the creation of new works for string quartet.
The Villiers Quartet is winner of the 2015 Radcliffe Chamber Music Competition and holds the position of Quartet-in-Residence at Oxford University's Faculty of Music, and feature in the University Faculty of Music Concert Season. In addition to their work at Oxford University, the VQ has presented masterclasses at Dartmouth College, the University of Nottingham, Syracuse University, Goshen College, and Indiana University South Bend. The VQ is also Quartet-in-Residence at Nottingham High School, where they direct an extensive chamber music programme for young students.
The Villiers Quartet’s debut recording for Naxos, The Complete Quartets of Robert Still, was praised for its "sublimely articulate and concentrated readings," Gramophone and received 5-stars in Classical Music Magazine. Subsequent releases have included the Delius and Elgar quartets in collaboration with Oxford Professor Daniel Grimley, and the first complete recording of the quartets by English composer Peter Racine Fricker. The VQ was the featured quartet on the soundtrack to the BBC One film, ‘Lady Chatterley's Lover’, and they have been featured on BBC Radio both in live performance and on the classical music programme ‘In Tune’.
In conclusion
A message from the Villiers Quartet:
Villiers Quartet: Two new recordings in an age of uncertainty
It’s not often that string quartets get the opportunity to release multiple recordings in the same month, which is why we were so excited for March 2020. We were due to release two discs: "William Alwyn: String Quartets No. 6, 7, 8, 9 on Lyrita"; and our first non-classical music collaboration "Spiders Tango" on Keda Records. As we made our usual preparations for the album launches, little did we know in the background that a global crisis was brewing.
With our recordings now being released under the spectre of COVID-19, the context gives new meaning to our music. Like many of those in the industry, we see upcoming performances cancelled or postponed, and the future of concerts at stake. Nothing will ever replace the closeness of live music; but as we adjust, we strive to remain connected with our audiences.
When we recorded William Alwyn’s early string quartets over a year ago, we were struck by the precision that Alwyn showed as a young British composer in the 1930s. His sleek writing style, which hovered between lush romanticism to Shostakovich-like sparsity, revealed his stylistic experimentation in each early quartet. His Ninth Quartet struck us particularly - based on text from Romeo and Juliet, Alwyn showcased his early ability to use chamber music for dramatic effect, and to express an emotional narrative arc. This was a skill he was later to draw upon when writing film scores at the onset of WWII.
Our collaboration with Bhangra composer Kuljit Bhamra, MBE and jazz drummer Davide Giovannini brought us into uncharted territory as a classical ensemble. When we were first approached to do Spiders Tango, we didn’t know what to expect. We remained open: what sounds could be created by mixing together a string quartet, Indian tabla, and drums? We were intrigued by this percussion-led music. Rhythm became the organic life force, and it was liberating for us to feel the free-spirited energy of our percussion partners. Kuljit’s string quartet-writing highlighted the lyricism and emotions in the melody. We were fortunate to perform Spiders Tango to an excited audience in Bristol just before the crisis unfolded; when the opportunities to play live for audiences return, we hope to share this positive energy again.
In this current time of uncertainty, we try to remain faithful to the positive power of music, and its ability to help each other with openness, connection, comfort, and hope. Our experiment in music continues.
The Villiers Quartet
