INDIAN OCEAN, B.B. KING BLUES CLUB, NYC
[DUNKELBUNT]
A NEW DAY; LAYA PROJECT REMIXED
ADDIS ACOUSTIC PROJECT
AFRO ROOTS WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
AMADOU & MARIAM
ANTÓNIO ZAMBUJO
APHRODESIA
BALKANBEATS
BANCO DE GAIA
BOBAN I MARKO MARKOVIC ORKESTAR
BOBAN I MARKO MARKOVIC
BOY WITHOUT GOD
C.J. CHENIER
CARLOS GOGO GOMEZ
CHOBAN ELEKTRIK
CHOPTEETH
CHRISTIANE D
CHRISTINE VAINDIRLIS
CLARA PONTY
COPAL
CUCHATA
DAMJAN KRAJACIC
DANIEL CROS
DEBO & FENDIKA
DEL CASTILLO
DR JAYANTHI KUMARESH
EARTHRISE SOUNDSYSTEM
EGYPT NOIR
ELIN FURUBOTN
EMILY SMITH
FANFARE CIOCARLIA VS. BOBAN & MARKO MARKOVIC
FEUFOLLET
FIAF PRESENTS WORLD NOMADS MOROCCO: MUSIC
FOOTSTEPS IN AFRICA
GECKO TURNER
GENTICORUM
GEOFF BERNER
GIANMARIA TESTA
GODS ROBOTS
GUARCO
HUUN HUUR TU
INDIAN OCEAN
IRENE JACOB & FRANCIS JACOB
JANAKA SELEKTA
JANYA
JERRY LEAKE
JOAQUIN DIAZ
JOEL RUBIN
JORGE STRUNZ
JOSEF KOUMBAS
JOYFUL NOISE (I GRADE RECORDS)
JUST A BAND
KAMI THOMPSON
KARTICK & GOTAM
KHALED
KHING ZIN & SHWE SHWE KHAING
KITKA'S CAUCASIAN CONNECTIONS PROJECT PERFORMANCES AND WORKSHOPS
KMANG KMANG
KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS
LA CHERGA
LAC LA BELLE
LAYA PROJECT
LENI STERN
LES TRIABOLIQUES
LISTEN FOR LIFE
LOBI TRAORÉ
LO'JO
LOKESH
MAGNIFICO
MAHALA RAI BANDA
MIDNITE
MOHAMMED ALIDU AND THE BIZUNG FAMILY
MR. SOMETHING SOMETHING
MY NAME IS KHAN
NAWAL
NAZARENES
NO STRANGER HERE (EARTHSYNC)
OCCIDENTAL BROTHERS ON TOUR
OCCIDENTAL GYPSY
OREKA TX
ORQUESTRA CONTEMPORÂNEA DE OLINDA
PABLO SANCHEZ
PEDRO MORAES
RAYA BRASS BAND
SALSA CELTICA
SAMITE
SARA BANLEIGH
SARAH AROESTE
SELAELO SELOTA
SHYE BEN-TZUR
SIA TOLNO
SIBIRI SAMAKE
SISTER FA
SLIDE TO FREEDOM II
SONIA BREX
SOSALA
SWEET ELECTRA
SYSTEMA SOLAR
TAGA SIDIBE
TAJ WEEKES
TARANA
TARUN NAYAR
TE VAKA
TELEPATH
THE MOUNTAIN MUSIC PROJECT
THE NATIVE AMERICA NORTH SHOWCASE
THE SPY FROM CAIRO
TITO GONZALEZ
TOUSSAINT
VARIOUS ARTISTS
VARIOUS ARTISTS
WATCHA CLAN
WHEN HARRY TRIES TO MARRY SOUNDTRACK
WOMEXIMIZER
WOMEXIMIZER
ZDOB SI ZDUB
ZIETI
Interview

Click Here to go back.
Pitt News, Interview >>

by Natalie Bell
One thing is for sure — a global band with an upcoming show beats the hell out of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sometimes it takes longer than expected for the world to catch on to something special, like Indian Ocean.

The Indian contemporary band will be performing at Carlow University’s Antonian Theatre on Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m.

With influences that range from Indian classical to rock, the band gets classified as anything from Indian folk rock to Indian jazz. Even Rahul Ram, bassist and vocalist, admitted that the band hasn’t found a term to describe its unique sound.

“A lot of people ask us what genre we’d be in, and we aren’t sure ourselves,” Ram said. “Listen to the music and come up with where you think we fall into.”

The band’s first album sold 40,000 copies but got very little response otherwise, a discouraging number to the group, which had only done seven concerts in its first five years of forming.

“That ridiculous [of a response] and most people would have given up and gone home, but it sounded so good to us that we said, ‘Look we don’t care.’ The response of the audience and our own conviction in our music kept us going. We were so convinced this music was good, so we just did it,” said Ram,

Despite a discouraging start, Indian Ocean’s determination, continued belief in itself and hard work eventually proved the band right.
Since then, the group has had success with its albums, including its self-produced 1997 live album, Desert Rain, which hit No. 2 on the iTunes UK world music charts.

“We felt so good. We loved it. And, you know, the nice thing is when we recorded that album, we took it to all the music companies in India. To get it into the iTunes top 10 is so much a vindication of our confidence in ourselves,” Ram said.

The band has also had several firsts for an Indian band — a live concert recording and a documentary. The group has also been asked to record for several Bollywood movies, such as “Black Friday.”

Indian music might not be a genre you’ve thought of listening to before, but “Jhini,” Indian Ocean’s latest album, is a combination of sounds that you might associate with Indian music with clear influences from other genres.

“Jhini” has a very interesting flair and a sound that’s almost impossible to describe. It’s contemporary Indian music spiced with flavors of jazz, rock and folk — all blending to create a deliciously different sound. While a first-time listener might be hesitant about delving into international music, the energy of the musicians and captivating sounds will erase any second thoughts.

After hearing the album, it’s clear why the band is known for its live performances. The liveliness of the songs and performers is apparent even in the album and would be undoubtedly even more dramatic in concert.

“Frankly, we love playing live, and we sound much better live than not, and a lot of people who hear us for the first time get completely blown away,” Ram said. “It’s not about sitting down quietly. Come clap, dance, do whatever you want, just have a lot of fun.”

 09/10/09 >> go there

Click Here to go back.

To listen to audio on Flipswitch, you'll need to Get the Flash Player

log in to access downloads

©2024 and beyond, FlipSwitch, LLC