Introducing the Rojak that is Akasha

Akasha, the band means many things. Their name literally means ethereal space - and otherworldly indeed they were.

Akasha is rojak (meaning mixture like the Malaysian salad dish) – having 3 Indians, 2 Caucasians, 1 Malay and 1 Mainland Chinese jamming well together like they’ve known and played with each other for years. The band members are Jamie Wilson bin Abdullah (compositions, guitar, gambus, vocals), Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundram (mridangam, ganjira, vocal percussions), Greg Henderson (bass guitar), Kumar Karthigesu (sitar, dilruba), Vic Ramakrishnan (tabla, vocal percussions), Badar Ben Taleb (world percussions, vocals), and Eric Li (piano). They are bonded by a common love for strange but good music, and for Malaysia.

Incidentally, their music is also rojak – from a hodgepodge of musical instruments ranging from the sitar to bass guitar, to the funky fusion of their songs. Imagine savoring a dish prepared by 7 top world chefs – each tossing in their favorite unique ingredient, in their own style. It tastes strange, yet familiar. Peculiar, yet comforting. Traditional, yet refreshing. And astoundingly scrumptious. This is definitely not the case where too many cooks spoil the rojak. These cooks make the rojak work.

I had my first taste of the addictive sounds of Akasha at last year’s Rainforest World Music Festival. They completely blew me away. The 30 minute of so performance only left the ecstatic audience clamoring for more. So good were they that the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) organizers requested them to make a comeback appearance at RWMF this year. These boys are also going places having received invites to perform next month at Harvard University in the United States. How cool is that?

Thus, when they invited me to attend their concert cum inaugural Into Akasha’s album launch held on Sunday and last night, I was thrilled to my socks. Imagine, 90 minutes of pure Akasaha music. That’s 3 times more than what I had in RWMF. I marked the sacred date on my calendar and found myself ensconced within the cozy depths of KLPAC last night. This being a Monday night, the hall was half-filled. A stark contrast to the night before when it was a full house. Nevertheless the fewer crowds meant that the audience could get better seats up front. During the 2nd interval, Jamie Wilson (who’s also the spokesperson of the band on stage) invited us to fill up the seats nearer to the stage, which I promptly did. The view from the first row of seats was truly the best! I could see their every expression and how their fingers flew over their instruments. Simply priceless.

To kick things off, they played Bourbon Lassi – starting with Sivabalan and Vic’s signature vocal percussions. It was also the song they chose to begin their show at RWMF last year. Other old favorites include groovy Brickfields Blues (the place the band was birthed) and the dizzyingly fast-paced and funny Ants in My Turban. It was a reunion of sorts. I felt the rush and excitement that only reuniting with a dear old friend can give. There are so many beloved traits to delight upon and tantalizing new updates to catch up on.


Purists may hate them. Newbies may wonder what the brand of music it was that is assailing their ears. But one thing is for sure: Akasha’s music is original, impactful, never neutral nor bland. As I listened to these sweetly familiar tunes – I realized that I’ve only heard them once before but they have managed to etch themselves into my soul somehow. That’s how powerful and gripping their music is.

I can imagine their music fitting in everywhere – from swanky classy lounges to the alleys of Brickfields, it has definite mass appeal and as emcee Jason Lo said in his inspiring introduction of the band, it feeds the soul. Throughout the 90-minute concert, they sat and did their thing. And the audience was thoroughly enraptured. There were no gimmicks employed. No special effects done. Of course, there was the percussionist maestro Steve Thornton who was a bundle of energy on stage to heat things up. But generally, the boys were seated and sedate and still commanded everyone’s attention with their great music.

They also dedicated a dreamy and surreal Javanese number to Datin Tiara Jacquelina and her husband as it was inspired by the highly acclaimed play Puteri Gunung Ledang. As the song was playing I could imagine the scene where the princess was waiting for Hang Tuah in vain on the slopes of Gunung Ledang.

The Irish Joget for Sitar, Ganjeera and Tenor Ukelele nearly had me breaking out into an Irish jig or was it joget? I couldn’t really make up my mind, heh. At end the fantastic concert, they played a light-hearted epic-like Chinese tune humorously titled “Ipoh Hor Fun”. Jamie and gang had everyone bursting into laughter as they made kung fu noises on stage to go along with the catchy song

The Seven Maestros

The warm and down-to-earth seven members of Akasha were maestros in their own right. In the hands of the divine Kumar Karthigesu, the typical Indian sitar became Western, Malay, Chinese, Javanese and even Spanish. Who would have thought the verily traditional sitar can be so funky and work so well with non-Indian flavored songs?

The elderly Indian lady who sat beside me told me that Kumar is one of the three sitar gurus in the Temple of Fine Arts, a classical Indian performing arts school in Brickfields. Kumar was recently awarded with the illustrious Anugerah Karyawan Seni and the friendly Indian lady beside me turned out to be Vatsala Sivadas, the school’s dance director.

A recent addition to the group is talented piano player Eric Li who hails from Shanghai but fell in love with Malaysia. He literally jazzed up the songs with brilliant complicated pieces, playing so effortlessly as if he was blessed twelve fingers instead of just ten.

Vic Ramakrishnan’s palms pounded the tablas unceasingly, mercilessly until his hands became a blur. Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundram made the mridangam sing and did the small but potently loudganjeera (a mini tambourine-like instrument) ample justice. Together with Badar Ben Taleb, they formed a formidable percussion team that added immense punch to Akasha.

The affable Greg Henderson gave good bass on his guitar and Jamie Wilson could be seen totally immersed in the music that the group was churning so energetically. In the slower songs, he plucked each guitar note expressively, exquisitely and passionately. In the faster songs, his tousled blonde head bobbed up and down in time with the music. The experienced guitarist has performed with rock legend Jimmy Barnes, guitar maestros Tommy Emmanuel, Ian Moss, Richard Clapton and many others. The two Aussie guys may look Caucasian on the outside, but they are definitely Malaysian rojak on the inside.

Mixed races, fusion tunes and passion for all things local – surely, a band can’t get any more Malaysian than Akasha.

Rainforest World Music Festival 2009 Draws Over 21,000 Fans

By Ariel Chew, www.VirtualMalaysia.Com

Kuching, Sarawak, 13 July 2009 - Despite the multitude of challenges faced by the 12th Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), the beloved and popular music festival still managed to draw in the crowds. It was just 3,000 shy of the original target of 24,000 people.

"We were met with one challenge after another. At one point, we even contemplated cancelling the concert but we decided to go ahead and really pull out all the stops to make sure everything is in place on time," said Benedict Jimbau, Chairman of Rainforest World Music Festival 2009.

Part of the challenge include ensuring that all possible measures are taken to eliminate or reduce the threat of the A(H1N1) influenza. Every festival goer were subjected to thermal scans, had their hands sprayed with a disinfectant solution and were given face masks to put on in crowded spaces.

Still, that did not dampen the mood of the audience who were there to enjoy good music and frolic in the unique festival grounds.

The third and final night of RWMF saw 5 bands performing on stage before having the 17 bands that performed throughout the 3-day festival coming together for an awesome finale.

Akasha Still A Hit

Returning for the second time, Kuala Lumpur-based band Akasha is still very much a hit in the RMWF crowd. The audience lapped up their classic Brickfields Blues, chortled with delight at the oriental Ipoh Hor Fun and went into a joyous frenzy when they tossed in a bit of Michael Jackson's Beat It. It was truly an exhilirating experience hearing traditional Indian musical instruments such as the sitar, tabla and mridhangam being used to produce songs from other cultures including the Malay zapin.

China Meets India

Once again the 4 Chinese ladies of the Red Chamber band showed their prowess in their traditional Chinese stringed instruments and producing wonderful sounds from the Imperial Chinese court and even Bulgaria. Their fingers moved so fast and furiously over the intricate compositions. Their faces were fiery and suffused with passion.

On Friday during their first performance, they played bluegrass music with Jeff and the Vida. This time around, they invited 2 percussionists from Akasha to fuse the sounds of the tabla and ganjira. The result was a strange piece that still bore distinct sounds of the two cultures. Still, it was an experiment that one doesn't often get to see....'

10 minutes with... akasha
By luke clark, www.jetstarmag.com

These Malaysian musical movers make world fusion look like fun.

Your first album, Into AkashA, was just released. Was it difficult to put your creativity into a set format?
Siva Sundram: Yes, summing up the energy level of our live performance on a CD is difficult, but we’re very proud of the outcome. There are 10 songs, summing up different musical sides to the band. As tough as it has been, the feedback from fans has been fantastic.

With songs like “Bourbon Lassi” and “Ants in my Turban”, you’re not a typically angst-ridden band.
Siva: Most of us are classically trained and deeply rooted in the music forms that we play. But we like to explore things out of our comfort zone, and that comes from not taking ourselves too seriously. You should watch us play, we have a lot of fun.

AkashA has been described as a rojak or a mixture of elements. What’s holding the band together?
Kumar Karthigesu: We’re rojak in more than one way. The group comprises Chinese, Malays, Indians and Caucasians. And the kind of music we play has no distinct genre. We blend the blues with varieties of Indian and Chinese music. The common thread is our love for exploratory music. We share a passion for taking what we play out of the genre we were trained in.

What will be different about returning to Sarawak’s Rainforest Festival?
Kumar: We’ve had three members arrive and one leave. Plus there’s more camaraderie now. We feed off each other’s improvisation better, so it’s a much tighter blend.

With seven band members, how do you prevent fusion from becoming confusion?
Vick Ramakrishnan: Actually, fusion is confusion! But it’s about having the mindset of exploring, yet not getting lost in the music.

By www.Thirstyblogger.My