As I entered with a note pad and a camera into the dimly lit hall at Alliance Francaise on December 5th with a rather confused look of what the event is going to be all about, I was all taken in by a surprise when the first song kicked off which left me in awe! EarthSync, a Chennai based music label presented Laya Project Live! It was released in India by EarthSync in June 2008.
Laya project is an assemblage of music from six countries, six shores that share one ocean, one sky and one language- survival.
The 90 minute music performance brought together 23 artists which includes Buddhist Monks Chant, Traditional Sufi singers from Nagapattinam, Dholak and Tabla, Nadhaswaram, Violin, Flute, Bass Guitar, Thappattam and Tudumpattam, Veena, Vocal, Drums, Tavil and Percussion. This project is a tribute to the survivors of the December 26th, 2004 Tsunami.
Says Sonya Mazumdar, CEO, EarthSync, “It is a pleasure for us to perform in Chennai, the land of Cultures. People here are well versed with music and they will surely enjoy the musical extravaganza.”
Earth Sync team has traveled to many tsunami affected regions for two years and has recorded the music of the people from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand and India.
The show started with the Buddhist monks coming with a horn and blew it and started their holy chanting with light strings on the Veena and thumping on the drums. The flutist also joined in and also the guitarist. The vocalist started off with a raga and I soon sensed a holy atmosphere as the violin and the Dholak started playing along with the others. It was a perfect blend of both the classical and the western styles as everything fell in the correct place providing with really good music. The initial songs were of a melancholic kind, but soon the speed picked up and the pace was maintained very well till the end.
A visual documentary shown side by side, where villagers sing in their local languages suited the mood of the visual perfectly. ‘Yenna thavam seidhanai Yashoda’ was the next song where the vocalist Anuradha Viswanathan sang confidently with an open and a bold voice. Her sangadhi’s were clear and flawless. Violinist Padma Shankar gave excellent notes on her violin with gamakams which added more taste to the sweet. The tempo maintenance was well taken care by the tabla, drums and percussions and it stayed on till the last song. Each instrument had an equal contribution to put in to the performance as it was a fusion. The Veena Player definitely needs a mention here as he was just at his best. The notes were so melodious and a delight to the ears.
The Sufi singers from Nagapattinam took over the stage next and sang songs in worship of Allah with the tambourine. The tempo was a bit slow but the violin, veena, keyboard and the drums added spice and thus were made interesting. It was in Tamil, but few Arabic phrases were from the Quran. It then moved on to an instrumental music where Anuradha stirred her vocal chords and provided with some good swaras and ragas. Soon I was taken to the traditional South-Indian village side as the sounds of the Nadhaswaram, Tavil, Thappattam and Tudumpattam filled the ambiance. The energy level was so high amongst the musicians. The Thappattam players danced a few steps and gave a peppy number. The hit on the drum or the melam was heavy and my decibels were activated and charged big time.
The show ended with a peppy song in remembrance to the fishermen who lost their lives in the Killer Wave- Tsunami.
Says Padma Shankar, “The show was a blend of western and orthodox carnatic music. We played what we wished and I had that freedom. Whatever type of music it is, it has the basic and the main 7 notes. So we had that as a base and combined everything. The rehearsals were just for a week or 10 days.”
The thala, raga and sruthi were maintained very well through out the show and it was a truly flawless performance. I walked out with a smile as I understood the true meaning of music and the nuances of it clearly. Their language and life is definitely music!
Anitha.R
Dec 8th 2008
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