Get alive with the music

A quarterly initiative, Live Music Live Campaign, will kick off with live performances that will showcase the versatility of Indian Classical music and its ability to infuse with global sounds

Despite the emergence of newer platforms that stage performances, music is best experienced live. To reinforce this belief, blueFROG has initiated the quarterly Live Music Live Campaign, featuring live performances by talented and upcoming artistes to promote Indian Classical music. Artistes will take popular songs or pieces, improvise it and present it in their own style.

Sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee

The campaign will bring together Indian Classical musicians and international artistes from various genres on a common platform to experiment and create new sounds. It will also enable upcoming Indian contemporary acts to share the stage with established artistes.

Saxophonist Manuel Hermia

It debuts on August 21 with an event curated by sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee and percussionist Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, who along with Belgian saxophonist Manuel Hermia will take to the stage.

Mahesh Mathai, Creative Director, blueFROG, says, "Since a Jazz saxophonist is jamming with a sitar player and a percussionist, it will be a mix of Classical and Jazz Fusion." Each act of this quarterly campaign will feature a guest artiste — it could be a band or a solo artiste. "For the debut concert, we are keeping it a surprise (a Rap-inspired theme), but it's always going to be an upcoming act, who may have done some performances, but not on this scale," adds Mathai.

The curating artiste will select the genres performed. For the first few concerts, Chatterjee will be the curator. Over time, other musicians and experts will be invited as well.

Mathai shares, "The stage belongs to the artiste; while we pick the artiste to curate the show and discuss what would work, we give space to the artiste to bring the elements together. Since it will bring Classical music to a mainstream platform, there will always be a Classical element to it. The rest is open to interpretation."

Comparing music to a spiritual communion between the audience and the musician, Chatterjee emphasises that music has to be experienced live: "These musicians have formed their living from performances. With digitalisation of music, it is imperative to bring the message of live music to audiences across age groups, especially to youngsters."

Percussionist Taufiq Qureshi elaborates that the point of the event is to not have specificity in structure and format: "It has to give room to experiment, bring new sounds and help musicians try new things."

Saxophonist Manuel Hermia sums it up, "The essence of musical language is to reach us emotionally and transcend cultural differences. We have to find the balance between the preservation of cultural identity and opening to other cultural influences."

On: August 21, 9.30 pm
At: blueFrog, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel.
Call: 61586158

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