Mukul makes honking cars crash into a rough sea

Musician and DJ Mukul Deora goes experimental this weekend, as he mixes sound samples of waves at Chowpatty, car horns and industrial sounds for a performance that must be enjoyed sitting down at an art gallery

It's about time electronic music was revered just as Indian classical music is. And what better way to steer this revolution than put out music that can be "watched", rather than danced to just like a Zakir Hussain or Amjad Ali Khan concert.

"It may seem like Indian classical and electronic music have little in common, but both demand 50% improvisation. Only the base changes," says Deora. Instead of a Sarangi, for instance, ambient city sounds form the base of his experimental act titled, Sonic Flotsam.

It's a concept he began dabbling in 7 years ago at his friend's Breach Candy terrace flat, and has now evolved into a structured performance that aims at blurring the lines between art, sound and music.

"I want people to get immersed in the music, and contemplate. Music can be contemplative, yet stimulating," says Deora, trying his best to put in words what he thinks can only be experienced.
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The musician-DJ will try and bring out the influence our aural environment and the rhythm in various sounds, has on each of us subconsciously.
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The performance will be based on 6 to 7 different concepts that's why it's conceptual art. But it will be a continuous performance, without any pauses. "It's a 40-minute landscape of sounds, a soundscape so to speak. The point of departure will be a particular concept, but from there on, it will be fluid."

Two strong concepts featuring in the act are minimalism (varied repetitive structures that keep evolving), and the boundaries of noise and music. Visual art will be kept at a minimum, to keep the focus on sound, but overall, Deora wants people to sit back and chill out.
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"Project 88 will have ambient lighting, the type you see at a classical concert, with ample seating for 60-odd people." On Saturday, Deora will collaborate with jazz pianist Paolo Alessandrello, and on Sunday, with electronic percussionist Abhinay Khoparzi.

The two-part act will also see the launch of Expressway, a compilation album of budding abstract-electronic Indian artists released under Deora's record label, Dudup (sound of heartbeat).

Watch Sonic Flotsam today and tomorrow at 7 pm at Project 88, BMP Building, ground Floor, NA Sawant Marg, near Colaba Fire Station, Colaba. Call: 22810066