Live band/Concert

As part of the Small World Music Festival in 2010, Talvin Singh was brought to Toronto to showcase a new set he was touring through North America which comprised of live tabla playing recycled through Ableton and essentially live-mixed with samples and MIDI-controlled synths.

Fans of artists like Karsh Kale may be familiar with this sort of performance - which really is real-time sample-sequencing and can make for a thoroughly enjoyable watch when you're in the audience seeing music being made by a single person but being built in layers until the texture is harmonious and you can't remember when which sample was recorded and fed into the mix.  Specifically with Tabla, and event more so with Talvin playing.  He has been classically trained in Tabla for many years and continued his practice of gaining instruction from masters since the days the London scene somewhat ended with the closure of his Anokha club-night. 

Talvin's devotion to music, and the Tabla in particular, shone that night at the Great Hall - a venue aptly named for its size yet greatly lacking in state of repair.  Unfortunately the extremely poor soundsystem meant that the music wasn't loud enough and that it had to compete with strange buzzing noises and mic feedback but somehow Talvin managed to brush that off, attempt to gain the maximum volume from his stage equipment and keep playing.  Keep playing he did - for much longer than the crowd anticipated being in for, and this, combined with the energy he brought to his set through tireless drumming and unexpected live collaborations with guests who popped out of the audience and onto stage with instruments or to grab the mic, made for a truly unique gig that was very reminscent of the early 90s (when you'd go to a party not having a clue how the night would turn out but quite sure that you'd have a great time.)

If Talvin's in your town soon - and playing a 'Tablatronic' set, be sure to check him out!

Founded 12 years ago by tabla player/composer (and Toronto resident) Ravi Naimpally, Tasa is an accomplished band with a lot of experience performing internationally.  Originally founded to express the experience of multi-cultural heritage heavily leveraging North Indian traditional instrumentation and vocals, Tasa is a very unique group in its musical translation of the Canadian experience. They have crafted a sound very much their own which at the same time is appealing to a listenership of diverse cultural backgrounds.

So it was with this context that a crowd slowly started gathering at David Pecaut Square to brave the intense sun this past Sunday and experience Tasa's performance.  There on the grass, in the summer heat, an audience comprising of people from all walks of life found themselves very comfortably mellowed by flowing Tabla, rich and soulful Bass and percussion (with lots of lush rattle swipes and shaker sounds).  Entirely down-tempo, their set won the audience's hearts with Samidha Joglekar's vocals - specifically the Boatman's Song seemed to garner happily wistful and nostalgic expressions on peoples' faces.

All-in-all, Tasa was an extremely fulfiling band to watch play.  Their musical prowess achieves a holistic sound that is rich and evocative and you're sure to want more when it ends.  Highly recommended!

Having seen Delhi 2 Dublin perform live a few times now, I was curious to find out how a Luminato stage would affect the audience - both in attendance numbers and enthusiasm.  As the sun set over David Pecaut Square last thursday night, hundreds of people gathered -possibly the largest audience this band has played for in Toronto yet.  Those hundreds were of all backgrounds and assumedly drawn to the show for reasons including their familiarity with the band, the show being free and part of the annual Luminato Festival, the act on stage next was Bhangra legend Malkit Singh.  

Even if the bulk of the audience at this show wasn't initially familiar with Delhi 2 Dublin, they were quickly drawn in by this charismatic band from Vancouver - as usual, the play between artists on stage drew audience members into the performance and pretty soon the whole crowd was on their feet dancing to this band's unique (and distinctly Canadian) blend of Celtic-Bhangra.

Performing a medley of material from their two albums, as well as a few seemingly stage-only pieces (like a great jugalbandi of vocal bols between Tarun Nayar and fiddler Jaron), it was enjoyable to see people in the crowd positively reacting to lyrical numbers like Tommy and Raise it Up, despite them apparently hearing the songs for the first time.

There is a lot to be said about both the book this documentary film is based on, and the film itself.  Add to that small list the sound which has been dubbed 'Taqwacore.'

Kicking things off was a screening of the documentary titled 'Taqwacore, The Birth of Punk Islam' - it was filmed during a road-trip tour loosely organised by the author of a novel called 'The Taqwacores.'  The book is about a small community of young Muslims in America struggling with expressing their identity and banding together under the pirate flag of 'punk.'  The story goes that after the book was published, kids around the US started getting in touch with its author, Michael Muhammed Knight, expressing their gratitude for his penmanship and want to become the characters of the book, in so far as experiencing a 'Great Taqwacore Experience.'  This resulted in him putting the tour together and the film chronicles this bizarre troupe of young Muslims playing out a lifestyle he wrote of in the novel.  By the end of the film, the major band-protagonists, the Kominas, take off to Pakistan in attempts to forge careers there and find like-minded motherland Taqwacores.

After the film screening a showcase performance was organised at the El Mocambo.  On a single stage, Toronto's own Humble the Poet kicked things off with a live spoken word/hip-hop set before yielding to Troy Jackson, Vancouver's Secret Trial Five and then the Kominas.  The showcase was a surreal experience after just having watched the documentary and the Kominas' performance was full of the youthful energy they displayed on screen, with a sound not dissimilar to their early performances captured in the doc.

The relatively small audience gathered that night obviously enjoyed the show but with a reserve telling of their interest in, but not deep passion for, what they were witnessing - they weren't Taqwacores, just open-minded Torontonians.

So often are live music events featuring electronic acts held in nightclubs or other venues where the audience has to stand for lengthy periods, despite the tempo of the performance.  Omnesia Live was a rare opportunity to relax in a top-notch small theatre and enjoy a 1hr + performance featuring a unique meld of international influences, all threaded with South Asian harmonics, percussion and vocals.

Produced by Anuj Rastogi, a Toronto based composer and performer, this act encompassed Yugoslavian singing with guitar by Branko Boras, Soul/R'nB vocals by Sandra Chibuluzo, Tabla, Bansuri (Indian flute) and more.

The show covered a range of tempos and on the whole wasn't particularily dancefloor-friendly; more headsy and hearty stuff - yet engaging and obviously fulfilling to the 100-or-so members of the audience, who clapped along to tunes and were responsive when called to in-between numbers by Anuj or other members on stage.

The night was memorable and intimate - if you get the chance to see Omnesia again on stage, I recommend not letting it pass you by.