Planet Radiocity,
CD Review
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It took us some time to get in touch with this duo. The globe trotters are currently travelling across countries but we managed to track them down. Kartick (Patrick Sebag), is in Israel and Gotam (Yotam Agam) is in Chennai. The duo, however, managed to take some time out of their busy schedule to tell us about their musical journey so far.
The duo has known each other for ages and has been working together since. Kartick says, “We met a really long time ago. It was the mid ’90s at a studio in Tel Aviv.” Gotam adds, “We started working together in 1994 on a project that was completely different from what either of us was doing before. Since then, we have been performing all over the world.” And their journey landed them in India. Gotam adds, “In 2004, we came to India for the project by Earth Sync called Laya Project. Since then we have been working in this region only.”
They were at the end of Laya Project recordings when they came up with an idea for the album Kartick & Gotam’s Business Class Refugees. “It happened when we were at the end of Laya Project recordings. We had to stay at the airport for 3 days on our way to Singapore and we had nothing to do so we came up with this idea to start the K&G project. The whole story is on the CD cover,” Kartick explains.
But the idea wasn’t just a passing phase. As they were already familiar with the work, they knew their idea would be well received. “The whole idea was actually very similar to what we had been doing. So it wasn’t something very new to us,” Gotam says.
Earth Sync, the label which supports Kartick and Gotam’s latest album, aims on promoting folk music across the globe. Kartick and Gotam who also happen to be the music producers for Earth Sync welcome artists to perform with them and share their talent. They often have collaborations with other artists on stage which not very surprisingly results in one of the finest fusions of electronic and folk music. “Most of the time we have different artists perform with us, but sometimes it is just us,” Kartick says. While they love collaborating, Gotam says it isn’t something they consciously look out for.
Kartick and Gotam both agree that their music is best enjoyed when there are visuals involved. That’s why they urge people to check out their YouTube videos for a better understanding of the track. Even their videos have a classic touch of folk culture. “It’s the team we work with and the materials we found. We have access to cameras as well. We are open to do what we want to do. And that’s how we make our videos,” Gotam explains.
And even though great minds usually clash, the duo insists that there is rarely any creative conflict amongst them and other artists. Gotam says, “It hardly happens. We always agree with the artists we work with. We very rarely have any conflicts or differences in thoughts.”
Kartick & Gotam’s Business Class Refugees is a blend of folk and traditional music. “The album is a mix of a lot of things. We have been travelling across the globe so it has an influence of the Middle East, Russia and other places we have been to,” Gotam says.
Despite the two adoring Bollywood music, the duo still hasn’t composed music for any Bollywood movie! “We are waiting for an invitation. We would definitely want to work in Bollywood. Tell the Bollywood producers that we are waiting for our first call,” laughs Gotam. 07/26/10
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