Indian and classical musicians are on the bill for this year’s festival.
- September 3 – Turbine Hall, Market Theatre Precinct (in collaboration with Zee TV), 10pm onwards
- 4th Sept – Zouk Bar & Lounge, Sandton
The past decade has seen the rise of the Indian electronica scene within India and no single band has had more influence on its growth than the Midival Punditz. The Delhi based duo Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj have been sighted as pioneers of a scene that has ushered in some of the freshest global music out of India.
The Midival Punditz have since become the most in-demand producers and remixers in India, with remix credits for some of the biggest Bollywood soundtracks such as the 2008 blockbusters Don & Chake De and most recently composing the background score to Karthik Calling Karthik with Karsh Kale. They have also licensed music to some of the hottest Hollywood films like Closer and hit TV shows such as Prison Break and Six Feet Under.
Midival Punditz have performed at festivals such as Glastonbury. Collaborations with Anoushka Shankar, Sting, and Norah Jones have cemented their reputation as producers and artists.
World Music Mrigya- In Concert
Durban: September 4 – City Hall, 6.30pm
- Johannesburg: September 5 – Jazz on the Lake, Zoo Lake
Tickets are through Computicket.
A rich blend of classical, blues, funk, folk, Latin, rock and jazz lends Mrigya’s music a unique texture bordering between Indian Classical and World Music. They re-contextualize Indian rhythms and melodies, taking them and placing them in the middle of jazz rock fusion and light funk.
They created history at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2001 by becoming the first Indian band to get a 5 star rating with The Scotsman – Scotland’s leading daily. Mrigya won The Herald Angel Award, presented by The Herald Newspaper for excellence in music and the Tap Water Award for promoting communal harmony at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2002.
U. Shrinivas – In Concert
Magical Mandolin Maestro in collaboration with KZN and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras
- Durban: September 22 – City Hall, 7.30pm
- Cape Town: September 24 – Joseph Stone Auditorium, Rylands, 7.30pm
- Johannesburg: September 26 – Linder Auditorium, Wits Campus, 5pm
Tickets are through Computicket.
U Shrinivas plays Carnatic music, the South Indian form of Indian Classical music, on an electric mandolin. Shrinivas has been enthralling people the world over with his creative music since the age of 6. He has been recognized by various organizations across the world; prominent among them is the nation’s prestigious award “Padma Shri” by The President of India. Shrinivas has also participated in lecture demonstrations at leading Mandolin festivals across the globe. He has performed with world renowned musicians – John Mclaughlin, Michael Brook, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Michael Nyman.
U Shrinivas’s younger brother U Rajesh, also an accomplished mandolin player, has performed alongside his brother at many of these concerts, and has received a Grammy nomination.
The concert will be presented in two parts. In the first segment, the brothers will present compositions in South Indian classical music (Carnatic style). In the next segment, they will collaborate with the KZN and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras and together, they will present the confluence of Carnatic and Western Classical music.