LOCAL fusion music band AkashA played a sell-out show to a completely spellbound audience at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) on Monday night as they performed well-loved pieces from their first album Into ... AkashA and as well as works from their upcoming album.

 

The boys from AkashA have such vibrant personalities that there was no stopping the irreverent jokes and laughter through out the 90-minute show. AkashA is made up of Jamie Wilson Abdullah (guitar/gambus/vocals), Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundram (mridangam/ganjira/vocal percussions), Greg Henderson (bass), Eric Li [piano), Vick Ramakrishnan (tabla/vocal percussions); Kumar Karthigesu (sitar) and newcomer Mohd Nizam Azis (percussions).

 

The show they presented was a carefully orchestrated treat comprising some of the exciting pieces from their first album like Esperanto, Damascus and Java Raaga interspersed with their new work. This included kitschy pieces like Bafana Bafana (inspired by their experience playing in South Africa during the recent FIFA 2010 World Cup) and several others, whose titles escaped me as they were being described.

 

AkashA's call to fame is their electrifying performance style, which is best seen live to be truly appreciated. Their inclusion of cleverly planned lighting also lent additional credence to the show. Band members exchanged jokes and colourful banter throughout the show, almost unhindered by the presence of the audience: it's almost as if we are paying to see them in rehearsal. If so, what a magnificent rehearsal session this was, you cannot help but tap your feet and nod your head to the almost magical combinations of music that streams out from the collection of instruments on stage and their masterful players.

 

The Moroccan flavored Damascus was given a zestier feel thanks to Nizam's contribution, while Java Raaga was performed so beautifully your eyes close spontaneously and you cannot help but smile in appreciation. Newer pieces juxtaposed bluesy music with a Indian flavor letting Kumar prove that the sitar can be teased to play more than just Indian music.

 

Towards the later part of the show, AkashA upped their ante considerably with the addition of a temporary member for the show, flautist from the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) Sonia Croucher. Dressed in the MPO issue black outfit, Croucher swapped a dress for a sari instead and gave AkashA's music some much-needed texture they are mostly a string-based band, so it was nice to hear another instrument taking a melodic lead instead. Joining the band for Ants in my Turban (which samples Bach and Mozart) and Ipoh Hor Fun, Croucher was a wonderful addition, but one I felt was slightly under utilized.

 

In the future, I' d like to see AkashA place less reliance on the guitar and sitar, and focusing instead on Li's flawless playing of the piano or perhaps even Croucher and the flute, if there is a next time for her. It is very easy to become cuckolded into a narrow usage of instruments although AkashA isn't there yet, it is something they should be cautious of. That said, it was a glorious show that was impossible to not enjoy.

 

There is a magical sort of chemistry that AkashA's members share, and it translates to the soul stirring way their music is made. Topping this show is not going to be easy, so AkashA well and
truly have their work cut out for them in the future.

 

There couldn't be a better name than AkashA for the local group' of musicians who have gathered quite afollowing for themselves, both at home and abroad, through their dynamic and inventive style of world fusion music. Roughly translated as "space", the Sanskrit word is an apt moniker because each musician is given ample space to explore their respective genres and instruments.

 

And as far as their inspirations go, the sky is the limit for these music makers, Besides Malay, Chinese and Indian music, AkashA's repertoire blends and incorporates diverse genres like funk, blues, rock and jazz with everything from African grooves to Celtic jigs.

 

Made up of Jamie Wilson (guitar), S. Sivabalan (mridangam, kanjira, kunnakol), Greg Henderson (bass), Kumar Karthigesu (sitar), Vick Ramakrishnan (tabla, kunnakol), Mohd Nizam Aziz (world percussions), and Eric Li (piano), AkashA has had a change in its line up since its debut; Mohd Nizam, who excels at the cajon, rebana, dharbouk and djembe, replaced former percussionist Badar Ben Taleb.

 

The group, formed in May 2008, initally made a name for itself through consecutive performances in 2008 and 2009 at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak. Since then, it has been busy performing gigs, both local and international including at prestigious festivals such as the Ulsan World Music Festival (South Korea), Tubac World Music Days (Arizona, USA), Vancouver Folk Festival (Canada), Jazzmandu (Kathmandu, Nepal) and National Arts Festival (Grahamstown, South Africa).

 In fact, AkashA has so far done 62 performances in two years quite an achievement considering the members also have their own commitments and careers. The reaction and international profile they've gotten from the audience, however, has been worth
all their effort. "The reception we've gotten has been fantastic!" enthused Sivabalan during a recent interview. "It's a real surprise to see how well we are received in all these places."

 

Back in Kuala Lumpur, AkashA is set for its debut performance at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in KLCC on Monday. AkashA will also be joined by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra's Sonia Croucher on the Chinese flute and piccolo.

 

It's a test to see how long the audience in KL can stay in their seats when AkashA is grooving it up on stage.

 

"It's encouraging to know that our music works everywhere," added Wilson. "Especially since we've worked quite hard to make sure you can enjoy yourself even if you don't know anything about music. It's great to see when people who are sitting back at the beginning of the show, stand up and scream for more by the end. "

 

During their show in Ulsan, for example, the normally reserved Korean audience were on their feet moving to the music, something the band hardly expected to see.

 

"And in South Africa, as we left the venue after our show, we saw a group of people playing our CD (which they bought after the performance) in their car, and just dancing right there in the middle of the road. It was amazing!" said Sivabalan.

 

A string of awards and accolades further testify to the group's success, it bagged the Voice Independent Music Award (VIMA) for Best Instrumental Act of 2010, the BOH Cameronian Award for Best Original Composition for its piece Bourbon Lassi and the Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) 2010 for the Best Engineered Album for its debut album Into ... AkashA.

 

After the success of its first album, which was released last March, the band is raring to introduce its second recording, expected to be out next month. The concept of the new album, according to Sivabalan and Wilson, can be likened to them writing postcards back home during their travels, the sum of all the experiences they've had on their journeys.

 

Wilson, who composes the band's material, said the second album uses a broader palette than their first. "For example, we're using very traditional Chinese classical sounds as well as African highlife music. There is a piece that has a very epic Malay ballad sound which then shifts into salsa, and a piece based on the sape. We also use quite a lot of kunnakol (South Indian vocal percussion), which is very popular with our audiences," he explained.

 

Sivabalan noted that they've also used many instruments that they haven't before, such as the violin, guzheng, harmonium and djembe. Just like a rock outfit, road testing new material has been a big help for AkashA in gauging audience reaction.

 

"The new album also has a few songs that we've been playing for about a year now, composed after Into ... AkashA. Pieces like Zapin For Mariam, Ipoh Hor Fun and Chasing The Camel are well loved numbers that our fans have already heard us perform live," he revealed.

 

AkashA's sophomore effort will see the group collaborating with several guest artistes. Among the most prominent names is popular American-born, Taiwan-based singer and musician Wang Lee Hom, who played the violin on one of the tracks. Another composition features the Red Chamber, a traditional Chinese fusion outfit from Canada.

 

Coming up for the band is more touring it is already looking into performing gigs in Egypt, Croatia, Australia and Thailand. What it is continuously looking for, though is support both from private entities and government agencies, in its quest to spread its uniquely Malaysian form of world fusion music. Currently, much of the expense of touring comes from the band members own pockets.

 

Beyond just performing music, AkashA has also been involved in bringing music education to those who can't afford it. Together with the Global Soul Enrichment Programme, the band has set up a full scholarship programme for 2011/2012 that provides under privileged children with the opportunity to learn instruments such as the mridangam, tabla, sitar, piano and guitar.

 

While the children will learn at selected schools of learning, the AkashA members will function as tutors as well as mentors, taking a cue from "Big Brother" programmes.

 

'This is a way to ensure that as many people as possible get the chance to experience music. You don't want your music to just die when you are done," said Wilson.

 

AkashA will be treating fans to both well known tunes from its first album as well as new material on Monday at the DFP show. Concert goers will also receive a free mini album of the band's new
material with each ticket purchase.

 

 

 

WITH the Rainforest World Music Festival 2009 a few days away, Klang Valley folk were treated to a taste of the highly anticipated music event.

Held at the Laundry Bar at The Curve in Petaling Jaya, the preview party, supported by Heineken, brought Red Chamber and AkashA. The event was attended by music lovers who were terated to performances by Group Bantus Capoeira, Tugu Drum Circle, KL Stompers and Diplomats of Drums.

The crowd was charged up when AkashA, the Malaysian ethnic fusion group took the stage for an intriguing performance. Some even stood up and danced, a clear sign of how they enjoyed the music, which was a marriage of four cultures – Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western.

On the other hand, the demure Red Chamber brought the audience back to ancient China with their delicate Chinese string band music.

The Canada-based four-piece ensemble comprised Han Mei, Liu Guilian, Yu Zhimin and Jiang Geling, who formed the band a year ago.

With impressive resume back in China, the four musicians aim to take the gist of Chinese traditional plucked string instruments – zheng, pipa, ruan, sanxian – to the world outside China.

Why the exotic band name, Red Chamber?

“It refers to the Red Chamber Dream (Hou Lou Meng, one of Chinese great classical novels), which introduced Chinese literature to the Westerners.

“Secondly, Red China was an appellation for People’s Republic of China, where we were born and grew up. Thirdly, red is also a sign of luck,” band leader Han said.

What sets the band apart is that it plays modern compositions like bluegrass and jazz, other than traditional tunes.

“A Dutch critic once described that Chinese music has never been this exciting’,” Han, an ethnomusicologist, said.

This will be their debut at the festival and their mutual expectation is simple.

“I hope the music fans will like our music,” Jiang said.

Tickets to the 12th edition of the festival, to be held from July 10 to 12 at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong, Sarawak, are priced at RM90 in advance and RM100 on the door for one-day pass, and RM250 for three-day pass.

Born and bred in Malaysia, the world music outfit AkashA straddles diverse genres and styles.

BIG names they may be, but the members of music group AkashA would much rather be known for their music. The group comprises some fine musicians from a plethora of genres: Jamie Wilson (guitar), S. Sivabalan (mridangam), Greg Henderson (bass), Kumar Karthigesu (sitar), Vick Ramakrishnan (tabla), Badar Ben Taleb (percussion), and Eric Li (piano).

“It’s really more about the music and less about the musicians,” shares Henderson during a recent interview. “When we play together, we stop being individuals, and AkashA happens. There’s a twinkle in our eyes, and we look at each other and say, ‘Wow, can you feel that?’

“I don’t really get what happens when we perform, but I love it!” chimes in Sivabalan, who was awarded the Cross-Cultural Champion of the Arts Award at the recent BOH Cameronian Arts Awards, an annual ceremony which recognises artists and their works that have contributed to the development of Malaysian arts.

While the term “world music” can sometimes seem a rather overused and convenient tag, AkashA’s music is “world” music in every sense; besides traditional Malay, Chinese and Indian music, their pieces also straddle diverse styles like funk, blues, rock, jazz, Irish jigs and rhumba.

Songs like Bombay Bossanova, Irish Joget For Sitar and Java Raaga marry a variety of sounds to produce pieces that are both exotic yet familiar.

“People get to experience different genres of music on different instruments,” enthuses Sivabalan. “I myself had never played bossanova on a mridangam before.

“Jamie (Wilson) is the force behind the band; he inherently gets fusion music and understands that it’s not just putting things side by side, but about juxtaposing different styles.”

The group members also like to think of their music as a quintessentially Malaysian sound that reflects on the country as it is today.

“The fact that we’re a multicultural group is a reflection of Malaysia and the diversity we have here,” says Henderson. “The music itself, too, is starting to take a Malaysian form, and boiling down to what Malaysia is all about.”

Take their song Ipoh Hor Fun, for example. Wilson penned the piece, insipired by traditional Chinese music, while the group was on its way to a gig in Ipoh. They decided to perform it and came up with the song’s title on a whim.

“When we performed it, people went mad! They loved it!” says Sivabalan. “It’s a representation of Chinese music in a Malaysian context, and it really worked!”

AkashA first burst into the local music scene during last year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in Sarawak, with its winning blend of Eastern and Western music styles, and completely won over the audience. Due to the amazing response it garnered, AkashA has been invited to perform at this year’s festival as well. What many people don’t know is that the group was only hastily put together right before the festival itself!

“The organisers (of RWMF) initially called me because they wanted Prana (a fusion ensemble that Sivabalan had been a part of) to perform, but it was already defunct at that point,” recalls Sivabalan.

“So I contacted four other friends (including Wilson, Kumar and Vick) to put together a group, and lo and behold, we received a fantastic response!”

The musicians realised they had something big on their hands and decided to take it further. Henderson, Badar and Li came on board, and they became what Sivabalan calls “a beautiful set”. Within months, they were raring to record an album.

The album, Into... AkashA, was released in March this year, and has steadily gained recognition for its ability to present both deep and lighthearted pieces with a unique sound. While most of the group’s original material is written by Wilson, each member of AkashA is given ample space to display and explore their individual areas.

This is even more apparent in a live performance, and so it is no wonder that the group is eagerly anticipating their gig at the RWMF 2009.

Both Sivabalan and Henderson agree that AkashA is best experienced live, both for the audience and for themselves as performers.

“That experience is something completely different,” explains Sivabalan. “People prefer watching us live because of the spontaneity we bring to the stage.”

“The live performance is infinitely more powerful, exciting and energetic!” adds Henderson, who will be performing at the RWMF for the first time. “There’s a certain chemistry that can only happen when we’re playing live.”

● Catch AkashA live on July 3 at Laundry Bar, The Curve, as a preview to the Rainforest World Music Festival 2009.

They took last year’s Rainforest Music Festival by storm, and judging by their performance at a recent concert in Penang, it is little wonder that all-Malaysian band AkashA continue to receive thunderous ovations wherever they go.

Themed Into...AkashA, the live concert held at the Temple of Fine Arts Penang featured an eclectic collection of tunes from their latest album, predominantly classical Indian music interwoven with western.

It was a seamless bonding of eastern and western instruments and musical genres.

AkashA’s multicultural lineup comprised Jamie Wilson (guitar), S. Sivabalan (mridangam), Greg Henderson (bass), Kumar Karthigesu

(sitar), Vick Ramakrishnan (tabla) and Badar Ben Taleb (percussion).

The musicians come from a variety of different backgrounds, and having been friends for quite a while, they came together when Sivabalan received an invite to put together a band to play at the Rainforest Music Festival 2008.

Since then, they have gone from strength to strength, and it promises to be a busy year ahead as they already have several oversea gigs lined up. But local music fans need not fret, as they are also slated to grace this year’s Rainforest Music Festival too.

“Although it’s only our first time here, it was a truly wonderful experience. Everybody really enjoyed themselves and were very much into the music,” Wilson said as he autographed CDs for fans.

Their tunes, ranging from upbeat tempos to sombre melancholies, took the audience from one state of mind to another. Playful pieces such as the Ants In My Turban and Ipoh Hor Fun got the crowd clapping along, while the slow-burning Karunaa tugged at one’s emotions.

When quizzed about the witty song titles, Wilson said they usually chose something that summed up the mood of the song in question, and tried to keep it light-hearted.

“To be honest, we write the song first. The titles come a long time later,” he explained, adding that Ipoh Hor Fun was written as the band was driving to Ipoh one day, with the Hor Fun symbolising the many Chinese-inspired notes found in the song.

Wilson felt himself privileged, as although many westerners played Indian music, he was one of the very few fortunate enough to play in a band with members highly skilled and trained in classical Indian music.

Other tunes, among them the Bourbon Lassi, Bombay Bossanova, Irish Joget for Sitar, Ganjeera and Tenor Ukelele, Damascus and Java Ragaa, were a potpourri of traditional music styles which proved that good music, no matter where they’re from, go well together.

For more information about the group, visit www.akashamalaysia.com.

 

 

Announcing the arrival of new kid on the fusion block, AkashA. Its members offer the passion of newbies married to decades of collective musical experience.

 

OVER the years, the local music scene has generated a wide range of talented world music/fusion combos – so much so that it’s easy to become blase about the high standards set by the musicians that have graced our shores. However, whether it’s the work of established outfits like Lewis Pragasam’s Asiabeat or the lesser-known but sorely missed first incarnation of the 50 Cents Jazz Club, such music tends to be taken for granted, at home, anyway.

 

The newest kid on the block, AkashA, is not really all that fresh when one considers the wealth of experience its members have between them. However, there is definitely a vitality and sense of purpose to its music that makes me rather hopeful that this outfit will have the staying power that has eluded so many of its predecessors. It helps too, that while the group’s musicianship is of a high quality, it is tempered by a good dose of humour.

 

Last Sunday, AkashA launched its debut album Into ... AkashA with an intriguing show at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) at Sentul West. The event marked a rapid transformation of the group from one-off project to a going concern.

 

Formed as a result of a fusion (pun intended) of groups Prana (not to be confused with an indie-rock band of the same name) and Inner Space, AkashA made its debut at last year’s Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak. The guys hit it off so well that within months they were in the recording studio cutting a disc.

 

Featuring a multi-cultural line-up, AkashA comprises Jamie Wilson (guitar), S. Sivabalan (mridangam), Greg Henderson (bass), Kumar Karthigesu (sitar), Vick Ramakrishnan (tabla), Badar Ben Taleb (percussion), and Eric Li (piano). Wilson pens most of the group’s original material but the music is such that every member has room to showcase his individual style.

 

The night of the live show proved to be a particularly poignant one as Badar’s mother had passed away earlier in the day and he amazingly found the strength to continue with this performance. The show, which was naturally dedicated to her memory, was an engrossing affair showcasing the material on the debut album. Much of the music would not be unfamiliar to fans of classical Indian music-tinged fusion.

 

The show began with a kunnakol round by Sivabalan and Vick. For those not in the know, kunnakol is a traditional vocalisation of percussion sounds (to be honest, despite it being delivered at an impressive speed, I’m not really that fond of kunnakol). The band then burst into Bourbon Lassi, the first of many pieces that was built on a melange of styles.

 

Over the course of tunes like Bombay Bossanova, Irish Joget for Sitar, Ganjeera and Tenor Ukalele and Java Raaga, we were treated to a real pot-pourri of traditional music styles set against one another in unlikely combinations.

 

Thus, while Wilson’s guitar would veer from country picking to Irish jigs and traditional Javanese scales, Kumar’s sitar would likewise switch from “orthodox” classical playing to Western blues and rock-style riffing. All the while, the percussion trio moved seamlessly from Latin to Malay to Indian classical (even here, Vick’s North Indian tabla contrasted winningly with Sivabalan’s South Indian mridangam). Factor in Henderson’s rock solid, and occasionally unison bass-playing, and Li’s jazz-tinged and sporadically explosive piano work, and it was easy to understand why the buzz about this group is so great.

 

There were also very playful moments in pieces like Ants in My Turban and Ipoh Hor Fun, but I felt the unsurpassable highlight of the night was the slow-burning emotional piece, Karunaa. We were forewarned in witty rambling style by Wilson that it would be a powerful piece, but after a while the sheer melancholia of the piece became overwhelming. Starting as a guitar/sitar duet, it gradually built up into a piercing aching monster, thanks I think to some very subtle but potent lines by Shanghai native Li.

 

An interesting footnote to the show saw pub scene veteran Vijay David emerge to lead the band through a rather unique version of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love!

 

A couple of days before the show, I’d managed to catch most of the group for a quick chat at the Temple of Fine Arts, literally the spiritual home of some of the group’s members.

 

I opened by asking if fusion legends Shakti were an influence and Wilson couldn’t help quipping, “Just because there’s a white guy playing guitar (in reference to the legendary John McLaughlin) with Indian percussionists doesn’t mean it’s Shakti! We really do try and include a much wider range of styles in our music.”

 

“We don’t want to limit AkashA’s music to one genre” said Vick, “the music isn’t just Indian or Malay, but also incorporates everything from Latin to Russian styles.”

 

“That’s really reflective of our own wide range of backgrounds,” added Kumar. “Jamie and Greg are Australians living in Malaysia, while, conversely, Vick is a Malaysian living in Australia, and Eric has moved to Malaysia from China.”

 

Aside from having varied musical and cultural backgrounds, the members of AkashA take on different responsiblities to help the group. Sivabalan is very much involved with promotion, while Henderson, a recording engineer by trade, also took care of most of the technical aspects of putting the record together.

 

“In fact,” Henderson revealed, “one of the most satisfying aspects of making this record is seeing Jamie get so enthusiatic about the project. I’ve worked with him as a professional making pop records for the last 10 years or so, and while he does a great job, he’s never been quite as excited as he has been with AkashA.”

 

Indeed, as music industry insiders, Wilson and Henderson are well aware that the market for CDs is rapidly shrinking. Still, the band made a collective decision that committing their music to tape was an essential step in their development.

 

“Having Greg aboard was priceless” said Wilson, “because we now have a recording of great quality. We wanted to have a producer who really understood the process instead of somebody just sticking good musicians in front of a microphone.”

Indeed, Henderson managed to get the whole project recorded over the course of just 15 to 20 days (albeit spread across a three month period)!

 

Most of AkashA’s members are in their 30s and all are very experienced, but they are well aware that similarly talented groups have failed to reach their potential because they couldn’t stick together long enough. “We know that such groups tend to break-up, and we’ve all experienced it before ourselves.” conceded Kumar. “But this time, we are more mature and quite realistic, and hopefully we will able to perservere.”

 

Sivabalan concluded, “It helps that we all do our own thing outside the group and don’t depend on it for income. Also, we have known each other for a long time now, and we get along really well as friends as well. AkashA is at a stage where we are just beginning to get a lot of offers to play prestigious overseas festivals, and, hopefully, with the right financial backing, we will be able to spread our message.”

‘INTO ... AkashA’ is available through akashamalaysia.com.

 

WORLD music fans can have blast on March 22 and 23 when Akasha takes the stage at the KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) in Sentul.

Akasha is Jamie Wilson (compositions, guitar, gambus, vocals), Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundram (mridangam, ganjira, vocal percussions), Greg Henderson (bass guitar), Kumar Karthigesu (sitar, dilruba), Vick Ramakrishnan (tabla, vocal percussions) and Badar Ben Taleb (world percussions, vocals).

 

For their KLPAC performances, the group will also be featuring guest artist Eric Li (piano)

Akasha merges various genres together for an exotic sound that includes everything from Celtic roots music and American blues to Indian konnukol or voices percussion and Spanish rhythms.

 

The music is a seamless bond of East and West and even the instruments, which include the sitar, tabla, djembe, mridangam, bass guitar and jass piano, are testament to this mixing of musical styles.

 

The shows will be 90-minute extravaganzas that will kick off with the band’s Bourbon Lassi that features Indian vocal percussions that segue into a lively Irish Riverdance number before finishing with a flourish of the blues.

 

Other songs to look out for include Ants in My Turban with its Russian inspirations, Damascus for a bit of Middle Eastern flavour, Bombay Bossanova for an Indian twist to the Latin rhythms and Brickfields Blues.

 

Audiences can also look forward to some improvised moments and explore the full depth of the group. All the above songs are available on the group’s CD but the live versions can be very different.

 

Akasha will also perform a number of tracks not found on the CD as well as cover versions of several standards.

Tickets are available through the KLPAC box office at RM57 each, including a complimentary CD.