The city’s IndieEarthXchange has tied up with several other festivals this weekend to bring together 19 global musicians online.
When Naamgar Lhasarnova sings the songs of her people, her voice is buoyant. It is easy to imagine that it spread over the vast plains, from which the Buryat-Mongolian tradition is embodied in his songs. But the music she plays with her team – and will now present to an international audience – goes beyond her roots. “We are an international family with different roots. I am a woman from a distant village, the daughter of shepherds and brought up on folk songs. My husband Eugenie is a town boy who grew up on the music of the Beatles and rock bands. We had a different upbringing and life paths that were far apart from each other, but at some point we ended up on the same team,” she says over email.
This weekend, Namgar will join 18 other concertgoers from different continents to play at online music festival Culturas 360. The festival is a collaboration between 14 music festivals located in different parts of the world in an effort to give musicians an online platform. In view of the pandemic. Participating festivals include India’s IndieEarth Exchange, Mozambique Music Meeting, Cuba’s Havana International Jazz Festival and USA’s Concert of Colors. This will be its second edition, the first edition will be in 2020.
The lineup features Indian artist Imran Khan, a Hindustani classical musician from the Sikar Gharana in Rajasthan. Emraan, who is no stranger to world music or global platforms, says on a phone call from Mumbai, “I have played at IndieEarth and other festivals in Chennai in the past. In times of pandemic, this is a great way to reach out to people until things open up. This lineup includes musicians I’ve never heard of before; I am looking forward to his performance. It’s almost a coming together of music from around the world.”
Imran Khan
The sounds – most of which are mixed with world music or other musical traditions – range from Afro-Peruvian to the Balkans, and were brought by musicians who are well versed in both tradition and experimentation. Most of the artists are also music researchers or teachers, and many have several international tours under their belts. They see their music as a means to tell the stories of their people and to bring their culture to the rest of the world.
For example, Namgar has this to say about his music: “Like others around the world, the folk culture of the Buryat people is represented by several genres: epic legends (uligurs), song rituals, dance songs (gol). dance yohor), praising marriage and hunting (magatal). Many ancient types of burrit music are associated with hunting and animal-breeding practice (playing on duck calls, the magic of female sheep), tengri (heavenly gods) and ancestral spirits. Along with the rituals of worship, the rituals of embarrassment (shaman invocation).
Due to the nature, climate and dialect diversity in the Baikal region (Western Buryats) and the Trans-Baikal region (Eastern Buryats), the styles of these songs also differ greatly in melismatic and melody. For example, the songs of the Steppe (Eastern) Buryats Presents the beauty of simple melody, while the lyrics of Western Buryat songs are complex and enriched with beautiful melismatics, an abundance of ornamentation,” she adds, “being a steppe person, where we sing loudly, To cover the entire steppe width, it was quite difficult for me to learn the melodies and vocal decorations of Western Buryat melodies. ”
The variety of music offered in Culturas 360 also means that there will be many curious musical instruments to listen to. But for Lena Bahule of Mozambique, her biggest instrument is her voice.” Mozambique is a country that is still very much attached to its nature, its chakras, and therefore its primary sounds. So vocal music is all other sounds and music. And the essence of creations is what makes this country so vastly dynamic and diverse. That’s what I love most about it.”
Lena Buhle
However, Lena would like to highlight a few other tools. “I play Kailash in a bin. In Guinea-Bissau it is called Tina. It is also known in Senegal and Mali, but played differently. I have a special love for this yantra because it reminds me of a woman’s womb and its power to bring life. I also use water as an element and a sound, as well as mafahlavne, which is a shoe-like shaker. It is from Swaziland but the way it is used is very common in many cultures in Africa and abroad. “And,” she concludes, “I use my body and my voice as my main traditional instruments.”
Visit www.culturas360.com for details and to view performances.
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