LIVE 1o1

It was a totally different atmosphere at the Vineyard Center, last Friday.  After a heavy dosage of rock music at JRO, the return of LIVE 1o1 brought with it music of a lighter notch. 

Last Friday at the Vineyard Center, carnatic and western instruments were coupled together to bring out a class of music, in the Indian style.  Called the 'carnatic fusion jam',  it brought together talents like, Neyveli S Radhakrishnan, R Yograj, Ghatam Karthik, Jojo, Neil Mukherjee and Shiva.

'Neyveli' S Radhakrishna, had his violin almost 'singing' out the tunes, such was the intensity of his music. The fact that he uses a processor for the violin is unique and it did give a strong effect, which blended perfectly with the fusion.  He was a recipient of a senior scholarship awarded by the government of India and is part of the music group 'AHIMSA'.  He had done numerous performances across Europe.

R Yogarajah played the variety game.  From the morsing to the ganjira, from the tabla to the kohan (an African drum that resembles a stool) and even to a conical shaped instrument which he made sound like a bass guitar, his wide range of music gave a distinct touch to the evening's show.  He also happens to be the only musician in India who plays the bass morsing.  As a versatile percussionist, he has travelled with Dr L Subramaniam in most of his global fusion tours.

'Ghatam' S Karthik, seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself with his ghatam. An interesting fact is that his ghatam, called the 'Thrimooki' (as it is supposed to have three faces) is his own creation!

The western influence comes in with our bassist for the evening, Jojoo and Neil Mukherjee on the guitars.  Neil was at his bluesy best and seemed to say there's no actual gap between carnatic and western music, while blending his Brit classic distortion tone coolly with the carnatic nuances.

Shiva, on the drums accompanied the band with finesse. He proved his stuff when he did his small solo bringing out some sharp tones and even 'elbowing' the tom tom for pitch variations.

LIVE 1o1 was started in May this year where various artists from different genres of music came together each week. It is not just about music but more of a stage set for the talented city artistes to hone their skills. The vision of LIVE 1o1 is to have a place where anybody can come have clean fun, relax and unwind every Friday. This thought is mirrored in LIVE 1o1's vision as an 'art to unwind'.

Variety is the name of the game, especially if it is in the form of art. Hence ranging from music to dance to theatre, LIVE 1o1 believes in giving the crowd what they want to see and hear. Keeping that in mind, LIVE 1o1 this July features a rainbow of talent ranging from classical fusion to rock and even to a dance special! There's a Groove nite too, with a surprise from outside Chennai.

Live 1o1, last Friday was - Big names,big music!

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