Full Moon & Folk Stars

While Sri Lanka-based band Naadro was the star of the festival,the collaboration between singer Parveen Khan,tabla player Hamid Khan,Mumbai-based sax player Rhys Sebastian and Egyptian oud player Joseph Tawadros was extremely scattered. While Tawadros tried his best to lift the performance with some interesting melodies,Khan’s vocals could not match up. Sebastian’s sax strains were interesting and had brilliance in spurts.

But the actual stars of the festival were the Rajasthani folk artistes,whose performances at every stage were noteworthy. The concept of an all-night folk music session at Rao Jodha Desert Park,a new addition this year,was interesting. The intimate concert without any microphones and in the presence of lanterns struck a chord with the attendees. The acoustic experience with gentle melodies and simple beats was a great idea. And some of the acts surpassed all expectations. Here are some highlights:

The Drum Roars

Naadro was a refreshing rhythmic blast. As the boys from Sri Lanka,led by Rakitha Wickramaratne,clogged the stage with a range of rhythms in crazy time cycles,fans took to dancing. The dust created a haze on the stage and the kaleidoscopic lights played around,with the six of them playing a range of drums from the Indian subcontinent and Africa,layering most of it with a slew of Latin percussion sets. Fittingly,Monday’s headliners delivered a brain-frying,elemental percussion euphoria of sorts,which had the audience on its feet for most part of the performance. “It is all about enjoying it on stage,” said Wickramaratne. The 25-year-old has collaborated with many popular drummers including Pete Lockett and Brian Moore (drummer with Madonna and Janet Jackson). An esoteric delight,this one scored high on our list,especially the band’s collaboration with Rajasthani musicians on khartaal,dholak,nagara and bhapang.

Piping it Right

As tiredness and drunkenness set in,the Celtic uilleann pipes joined in. The most complex and versatile of all pipes,members of Ross Ainslee and Jarlath Henderson Band bellowed the pipes to create interesting dance tunes. They blended their rousing Scottish traditional style with an acoustic guitar and banged away ditties such as I am not yet fed up of the Pacific Ocean and Old Bush. The band also presented a host of Irish tunes and conversed and sang a foot-stomping and high energy set. They created the traditional staccato effect at various intervals,getting the audience going and swaying to the music. “I did not know that bagpipes could have such an effect on the Indian audience,” said Handerson. Scottish Culture Secretary,Fiona Hyslop — present at the festival — signed an agreement with Jodhpur RIFF wherein Rajasthani and Scottish artistes will be able to perform internationally. The talks are also on to present Rajasthani artistes at the Glasgow music festival.

Turkish Delight

As seven men,led by Turkey’s foremost music specialist Burhan Ocal on darbuka (the Turkish duff) began with their melodies,the Byzantine influences and the fact that the country exists at the eastern and western crossroads came alive beautifully. As Burhan Ocal and Istanbul Oriental Ensemble performed music from the Rom gypsy and Turkish folk traditions,they took the audience on a journey with a series of improvisations. As he began with a traditional Turkish tune,the other band members who were playing the lute,violin,oud and a range of other percussion joined in to create a beautiful blend of melodies and rhythm.