Musicology

Pump up the Volume
Saturday night was one adrenaline high at Rock in Rio. All tanked up,the evening saw Seagram’s Fuel Great Indian come alive with three rocking rock bands: city’s Anus the Menace and The Carrot Fish and all the way from New Delhi,one time finalists of Channel V launchpad,The Circus. While Menace rocked the crowds,The Carrot Fish indulged in indi pop British rock. “The main attraction is the interaction with the crowd,we simply love the pub rock setting,” says Saahil Sarin of The Carrot Fish,who,along with his band played original tracks. Actually,that’s th beauty of Fuel. It’s a platform for musicians to not only express themselves but also encourage artists to write and perform their own music. All the way from Delhi,The Circus arrived with the variety of entertainment a circus act provides: “hard rock,experimental,alternative,electronic: we played all,” rocks Arsh on the vocals and guitar. Into the groove for three years now,the four member rock outfit,interestingly,has three architects and one bus body builder! “That’s history,it’s full time music now,” smiles Arsh,all set to cut their first album next month titled,From Space. “You can log on to facebook or myspace for more,” signs off Abhishek Bhatia on vocals,Abhinav Chaudhary on bass and Anshul Lall on the drums.

Musical Moments
Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan performed at a concert organised by the Triveni Sangeet Sabha at Government Museum Hall on Sunday evening. A true custodian of Delhi Gharana and an active promoter of Hazrat Amir Khusro’s musical work,Ustad Iqbal is well-known for his versatility and vocal expression and has been described by International media as solid,substantial,graceful and supple. He sings an entire range of classical and semi-classical music and his renderings of Thumri,Dadra,Tappa,Bhajans and Ghazals have won him great acclaim. Ustad Khan has been awarded many prestigious awards like International Amir Khusro Award,Sangeet Ratan Award,Gyan Acharya award and has composed music for popular serials like Amir Khusro,Indra Sabha,Chadar Ka Tukra,Basant Bahar et al and was awarded with the best music director award in ‘88 for the music he composed for the documentary ‘Qutab Minar and its Monuments and Sculptures.

Lend an ear
Sanjeev Kohli’s instrumental music album titled Creation,was released by Shobha Koser and Reema Diwan at the Pracheen Kala Kendra today. A disciple of noted sitarist Pushpa Verma,Sanjeev is a promising artist who has innovated a unique musical instrument which is a blend of sitar and spanish guitar.