We’re thrilled to be playing our GIANT marimbas as a part of the Sounds from the World Official Showcase at SXSW again this year! If you don’t have a wristband or badge, you can still get in with a cover $10-$15.
Check out this amazing line up!
Fuzon 8:00pm
Fuzon is an eastern classical rock band which was formed in Karachi Pakistan by Emu and Shallum Xavier in 2002 who decided to put their heads together due to similarities in their musical ideas. Since then, Fuzon has met with massive success at home and abroad- specifically in India and Bangladesh. They are considered the pioneers of Fusion music in Pakistan, and currently have three albums out- with the fourth one due for release by mid- 2017. Fuzon is a band that is well known among the local masses and has a long history of touring at home and abroad.
Indrajit Banerjee 9:00pm
Sitarist Indrajit Banerjee is one of the leading exponents of the Maihar Gharana. He was born in a musical family, unique due to the large number of accomplished artists in Hindustani Classical Music, including his guru Pandit Kartick Kumar (Sitar), Pandit Barun Kumar Pal (Hamsa Veena), Niladri Kumar (Sitar), Partho Das (Sitar), Aparna Roy (Surbahar). He got inspiration from his sitarist mother, Manju Banerjee, who was a disciple of late Nikhil Banerjee. Indrajit has a special touch on Sitar combined with technical virtuosity and sensitivity. He is an A grade artist of All India Radio and National Television, Panel Artist for Indian Council Of Cultural Relations, has served as Judge for A.I.R (Kolkata), and is a member of the American Federations of Musicians, He has also collaborated with many artists, such as Sting, Yaron Herman, Abbos Kosimov, Fareed Haque, the world music group Atash, among others. He has several solo sitar albums to his credit and also has been featured in many albums. His lessons and instructional DVDs on Sitar are popular throughout the world. Indrajit is also a composer and has arranged music for several albums and award winning documentary films.
Gourisankar - Tabla
Born in 1964 to a nationally respected family of musicians, Sri Gourisankar, the grandson of famed dhrupadiya (vocalist) Jotinra Mohn, began studying and playing tabla at the young age of three-years old under the able guidance of his father, Mr. Shib Shankar - a noted disciple of the tabla maestro, the late Ustad Keramatulla Khan. Sri Gourisankar is an outstanding percussion artist. He has received high compliments world-wide for his musical virtuosity. He enchants audiences with his deep, melodic artistry, displaying his keen understanding of intricate rhythms. He has conducted many concert tours in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. He has given radio and television interviews in Cairo, Germany and Monaco. Eminent musicians and music connoisseurs world-wide have a great appreciation for his musicianship. Sri Gourisankar is an “A” grade Artist with all India Radio and Televison.
Qawalistan 10:00pm
Qawalistan brings together a blend of traditional Qawali and Western Rock ‘n’ Roll music. This ecstatic music from East and West together underscores harmony and peace for humanity. Qawalistan’s repertoire includes century-old traditional Qawali and contemporary Western Rock, bringing an unmatched and eclectic fusion from the current times.
Qawalistan believes in making friendships through music. Capitalizing on the power of Qawali with Sufi lyrics and its enchanting fusion with World Music, the band aspires to spread peace and inculcate harmony to enable more tolerant societies. Qawalistan’s compositions are celebratory and its performances are interactive and electrifying. The band connects with artists from around the world with the goal to investigate and share how well music connects hearts, mends relationships, and bring the citizens, cultures, and civilizations together.
The band’s Qawali influence is derived from the world’s renowned Qawali Maestro Aziz Mian and his son Imran Aziz Mian, lead vocalist for the band. Additionally, its music ascribes to underscore the diversity of South Asian Qawali through compositions from great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sabri bothers and several other maestros that are well-known and celebrated worldwide.
The Rock section of Qawalistan’s music draws influences from Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Jeff Back. While Guitars and Drums serve as the backbone of its astoundingly rocking musical sets, Qawalistan incorporates chord progressions and original Guitar-riffs in its songs. Its musical arrangements have Rock and Jazz-styled fusion of Drums blended with Eastern percussion Dholak and Tabla that fuels its power pack performances. The Bass Guitar lays out overall tempo, feed the Harmonium and Vocal sections, and also put-forth mesmerizing improvisations with the Vocalists and robust Qawali Clappers for starting, ending and the sum notes. Qawalistan’s melodies reflect authentic Qawali traditions of the East encased in Classical ragas, while the overall musical arrangement has an up-beat Rock countenance to it.
Qawalistan’s repertoire includes Hamd, Naat, Qawl, Manqabat, Ghazal, Kafi and Instrumental music. The Instrumental numbers have separate Eastern Classical and Western Rock sections that incorporate rich and heavy jamming of Lead and Bass Guitars with Drums and Percussion.
Maréh 11:00pm
Maréh, a Colombian singer characterized by his versatility, belongs to the melodious landscape of new voices in the musical scene of his country. Throughout his trajectory he has shared the stage with artists like Cultura Profética, Los Aterciopelados, Perotá Chingó, Velandia y La tigra and has been invited as a special guest to support artists like Monsieur Periné and Cabas as a percussionist.
His first international tour, “Gira al sur”, took place in Argentina and Uruguay in 2015 as he was part of the Ibero-American Festival “Llegando a Montevideo” in the emblematic Zitarrosa Hall. He has just released his latest single “Silvestre” in collaboration with the Dominican artist Vicente Garcia. Federico Galvis «Maréh» is a musician, singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer from Cali, Colombia. He is studying to become an Anthropologist and he is, without a doubt, a young lover of life.
Stary Olsa 12:00am
If rock-n-roll had been invented 500 years ago, this is what it would sound like.
In 1999, Zmicier Sasnouski brought together a diverse group of musicians, some classically trained and some self-taught, who shared a common love of history. Like many bands, Stary Olsa’s roster shifted until it settled on the current line-up, which includes bagpipes, flutes, shaums, lute, rebec, tromba marina, and percussion (including wooden shoes), with front man Aleys belting out vocals in Belarusian.
The band has recorded twelve albums of traditional tunes from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Popular European dances, rowdy Slavic drinking songs, and epic tales of knights and victory, all performed exactly as they sounded when they were written in the 15th century. Stary’s latest album, “Medieval Classic Rock,” was produced by a Kickstarter campaign, after fans worldwide discovered the band on YouTube playing favorite rock tunes on their medieval instruments. Until you’ve heard “Iron Man” performed on the hurdy-gurdy, your life is just not complete.
Today’s hits are but “a small stop on a long musical continuum.” Stary Olsa shows just how much our current musical traditions owe to their medieval roots.
Rattletree 1:00am
Voted Austin’s Best World Music Band 2015-16, Rattletree is a must-see multi-sensory live show experience of towering marimbas triggering ethereal synth sounds, bursts of color & ecstatic dance. As seen on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and often called “Blue Man Group meets Electronica,” Rattletree has dedicated their lives to learning the ancient rhythms that have been handed down for generations to awaken the soul through the trance-inducing music of Zimbabwe. Infusing these ancient forces with the intensity of modern electronic dance music, Rattletree will make you move with wild abandon. Check out our videos at www.rattletree.com
This event has a Google Hangouts video call.
Join: https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/rattletree.com/sxsw-music?hceid=cmF0dGxldHJlZS5jb21fYzFidW8xNGMxMG5xc2dzaWRibGxqMzU1azhAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ.tkeii5kfmtp4rca6m577mam630&hs=121