Rasa Duende – Improvisations
Eastside Radio’s Album of the Week is Improvisations by Rasa Duende.
A collaboration between internationally acclaimed musicians Bobby Singh (Tabla), Adrian McNeil (Sarod) and Damian Wright (Flamenco Guitar), Rasa Duende’s first recording “Improvisations” explores meeting points between Hindustani and Flamenco traditions, melodies, rhythms and aesthetic thought through a deep understanding and engagement with both of these highly expressive music cultures.
Through the primacy of improvisation, the artists respectfully engage with a range of this traditional material, and then arranges it into a new collaborative setting. This approach allows the artists to create a sound that is both fresh and unique but, at the same time, deeply rooted in the tradition and musical sensibilities of these two cultures.
Improvisations is a release by ABC Music. For more information or to buy the album please go to the ABC Shop
Stay closely tuned to Eastside as we are giving away a copy of Improvisations to a listener every-day this week!
Bobby Singh (Tabla): Is the figurehead of “World Music” in Australia. Bobby won an Aria Award last year for his collaboration with Jeff Lang & Mamadou Diabate (Mali) in the super group Djan Djan. Bobby has spent 6-8 hours a day since the age of 8 practicing tabla. He is as equally at home playing high level classical Hindustani music as well as collaborating with the crème de la crème of Australia’s jazz and classical scenes (Slava Grigoryan, Joseph Tawadaros, David Hirshfelder) The pop world (John Butler, Cat Empire) and he has been known to set dancefloors heaving at 3am with his Drum n Bass group, The Bird.
Bobby divides his time juggling commissions, international touring commitments in Europe, India and Australia and doing yoga.
Dr. Adrian McNeil (Sarod): Adrian McNeil is one of the only white musicians in the world playing at the upper echelons of the classical music world in India. He was the disciple of Ashok Roy, who was the disciple of the worlds greatest Sarod player, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Adrian literally did write the book on Sarod, which has seen mass distribution via India’s leading book publisher, Seagull. This tome set it’s place in history by healing the divide between two opposite schools of thought on playing the Sarod in India. Adrian currently runs the music department of Macquarie University and is responsible for allowing some of Australia’s great musicians to receive their Masters degrees.
Damian Wright (Guitar): Began studying flamenco in Australia from a young age. His passion for the artform led him to its source, Spain, where he spent years studying under the grand masters of flamenco guitar. Upon his return to Australia, he was funded by The Australia Council to again return to Spain and delve deeper into his study. When finally returning to Australia, Damian has written for and performed with the top flamenco artists in the world within Australia as well as creating his own national touring flamenco group, “Bandaluzia Flamenco” which has become a massive hit in the world and folk festival circuit of Australia