“The musical hybrids weren't stunts. They were the sound of musicians who listen widely and well.” – The New York Times (on Karsh Kale)

"The Delhi-based Indian duo... deliver… an intense experience morphing electronic and Indian music in a way that brings out the best of both…crowded with creativity..." – Isratrance (on MIDIval Punditz)

It’s been described as “global groove music”, but Karsh Kale and MIDIval Punditz’s sound is much more than that. Together, they weave influences from drum ‘n’ bass, Sufi music, deep house, centuries-old ghazals, rock, trip-hop, North and South Indian classical and folk music, trance, Jamaican dancehall and more in a tight acoustic-electronic soundscape that – devoid of fusion clichés – blends evocative singing, instrumental melodies, ambient drone and funky, intricate amplified beats with ballsy intelligence and infectious energy.

Onstage, the assembly of turntables, tabla, laptops, trap drums, Indian bansuri flute, keyboards, and perhaps a sitar, harmonium and guitars sometimes perplexes audiences unacquainted with South Asian underground and Asian Massive music. But once the music begins, preconceptions fly out the window for the soundscape that emerges is so seamless, organic and ecstatic that attempts to pin it down suddenly seem absurd.

Karsh Kale
Like his music, Karsh Kale is impossible to pigeonhole. Born in London and raised in New York by Indian immigrant parents, the star producer, singer-songwriter, tabla player, drummer, guitarist, keyboardist, composer, DJ and remix artist grew up steeped in Indian classical and film music even as he developed profound interest in other music including rock, pop, jazz and electronica.

It was while studying music production and performance at New York University that Kale began his career playing the tabla and drumming with local bands. Armed with self-made “electric tabla” and amazing creative energy, it wasn’t long before he became a hotly-demanded all-round music-maker, known for creating genre-busting music that inventively fused styles from the different places he calls home – London, Delhi, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York.

Since then, Kale – in addition to collaborating with longtime labelmates MIDIval Punditz – has worked with such diverse, top artists as Paul Oakenfold, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, Ryuichi Sakamoto, P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins, AR Rahman’s flautist Naveen Kumar, Hollywood film scorer Richard Horowitz, bansuri legend Hariprasad Chaurasia and his nephew Rakesh Chaurasia, Jane’s Addiction’s Steve Perkins, Lenny Kravitz, DJ Spooky, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Amel Larouix, super producer Bill Laswell, Anoushka Shankar, The Cure, Afrika Bambata and more. He has recorded over 50 collaborative releases and released his own albums such as Realize (2001), Liberation (2003) and Broken English (2005) to tremendous acclaim.

MIDIval Punditz
New Delhi beatmasters MIDIval Punditz – childhood friends Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj – are pioneers of India’s rising electronica scene and have brought to international audiences some of the freshest global music from India.

The duo takes melodies and rhythms from Indian classical and folk music and works them into varied soundscapes with dance grooves, drum ‘n’ bass programming, high energy trance, jungle, spoken word, vocoderised vocals, synthesised and programmed sounds, Indian classical vocals, and traditional Indian and acoustic western instrumentation. And their music is no exotic hodgepodge. Instead, theirs is an impeccable and intelligent approach that has resulted in tracks described as “masterfully produced, each sound meticulously placed with heart and soul, for maximum impact” (BBC).

So far, their albums and collaborations with top Indian artists like Anoushka Shankar, Kailash Kher, Thaarey Rahiyo, Ustad Sultan Khan, Vishal Vaid and Kale have gotten dance music lovers in raptures. The latest to garner rave reviews is 2009’s Hello Hello, their third album (after two acclaimed full-length releases and countless remixes). Also featuring Kale as co-producer/co-songwriter/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, Hello Hello is a collection of songs influenced by diverse genres that, when performed at Geneva’s 2009 The Paleo Festival, had audiences screaming for an encore.

Hello Hello!
Hello Hello’s highlights include a clubby track mixing groovy beats and tabla percussion with lyrical flute, an atmospheric English-Hindi spoken word piece, a vintage disco mix featuring vocoderised vox, a brilliant reworking of Led Zeppelin’s Four Sticks with Israeli electro jazz band J.Viewz, an infectious “rocktronica” track, and a beautiful, centuries-old Urdu ghazal sung with aplomb and set to hot, rocking beats.

With any luck, these will be in this Mosaic concert’s repertoire. In it, Kale and the Punditz will perform with accomplished bansuri flautist Ajay Prasanna (whose own father was the guru of the world-famous Hariprasad Chaurasia) and Assamese vocalist Papon whose vocal jams – singing lyrical river songs, devotional songs, restrained Indian classical and poetic ghazals – set the soundscapes ablaze.

Come on a fantastic ride through soul-searing melodies, heady beats and some of the most exciting sonic textures you’ll ever encounter.

7.30 & 10pm
(60mins, no intermission)

$40*
$48* (for ticket purchased on day of performance)
(* With one complimentary drink. All patrons must be above 18 years old)

Exclusive savings for Mosaic Friends and other packages available.

For workshop details, click here