Daily Local News,
Concert Preview
>>
India is a vast country, with a huge cariety of of musical genres.
Indian Ocean, a band from Delhi, is versed in many of the styles and has spent years merging them into a fresh new sound. On Saturday night, Indian Ocean will play at the University of Pennsylvania's Harrison Auditorium.
The group includes Asheem Chakravarty (tabla, percussion, vocals), Amit Kilam (drums, percussion, recorder, vocals), Rahul Ram (bass guitar, vocals) and Susmit Sen (acoustic guitar)
"We grew up listening to Indian classical music, Indian folk music and a lot of rock bands," Kilam said during a recent phone interview from his home in Delhi. "It all fits in the head somewhere and comes out with different parts when we're jamming. That is why it is so difficult for us to characterize our music. It has a raga base as well as a foundation in rock. Whatever happens just happens.
"The fact that we are from Delhi separates us from Bollywood (Mumbai, the center of the Indian film industry). Bollywood is like a black hole that sucks in everything. Bollywood is cheesy because there is so much copying going on. Fortunately, we've been able to do some scores for movies without changing. The score we did for the film 'Black Friday' was a big factor in our popularity."
Known for lively concerts, Indian Ocean has released five albums and one DVD. Their shows on this tour will draw heavily from the band's most recent CD, "Kandisa."
Indian Ocean will perform at 6:30 tonight at Harrison Auditorium (3260 South St., Philadelphia, 484-362-9882, http://philly.aidindia.org. Tickets are $30. 10/03/09
>> go there
|