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Karnataka College of Percussion & Khanda

Mermaid Arts Centre & Improvised Music Company
Present


5 Cities CD/DVD Launch Concert


Karnataka College of Percussion & Khanda

R.A. Ramamani - Voice
T.A.S. Mani - Mridangam

Ramesh Shotham - Ghatam, Morsing
Martin Nolan - Uillean Pipes
Peter Browne - Accordion
Ellen Cranitch - Flutes, Whistles

Tommy Halferty - Guitar
Ronan Guilfoyle - Accoustic Bass

Conor Guilfoyle - Drums, Tablas

"In Mani's hands, this pre-technological drum, the mridangam, produces a dazzling array of bass and treble notes with astonishing speed... the renowned vocalist Ramamani, whose breathtaking improvisations are extraordinarily subtle... Khanda are among the most innovative and visionary musicians in Ireland"
- The Sunday Tribune

Saturday 8th November 2003 8pm, Mermaid Arts Centre Main St. Bray
Adm €20/18 tel 01 272 4030

KCP workshop:
Friday 7th November 2-4pm, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle D2
Adm €10/5 tel 01 407 0750

The combined forces of KCP and Khanda completed an extensive Indian tour in 2001, with concerts in Bangalore, Madras, Trivanduram, Hyderabad, New Delhi, then Dublin for a performance filmed by documentary maker Cormac Larkin, who accompanied the two bands on tour. Two years on, these nine outstanding musicians will reconvene for a concert celebrating that tour, and the 5 Cities CD/DVD will be launched at Bray's stunning new arts Centre, The Mermaid.

Since 1968, KCP has trained thousands of musicians, and its founders T.A.S. Mani and R.A. Ramamani are the sub continent's leading exponents of Carnatic music, the complex rhythmic artform that is typical of South India. They have performed and recorded across the world, notably the award winning "Jyothi" for the ECM label, and have a long tradition of collaboration with Western artists, including saxophonist Charlie Mariano. Irish musicians have never been slow to absorb ethnic elements into the ever evolving language of music, and since their debut performance in 1995, Khanda have been creating an eclectic sound that truly embraces the world of music, weaving a rich tapestry of sound and rhythm which draws its inspiration from Ireland, Spain, North Africa and The Balkans to stunning effect. The recent addition of genre defying accordionist Peter Browne adds another vital element to Khanda's unique fission of Irish music and the influences of the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

This performance brings together some of Ireland's leading jazz and traditional musicians with these Indian masters, forging a dynamic language that transcends language and borders. Drawing on the melodic strength of Irish music, the rhythmic character of its Indian counterpart and embracing the improvisational instinct of jazz, this promises to be an exhilerating musical dialogue, climaxing in a performance of 5 Cities, a collaborative piece written by the musicians while on tour in India.

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