Desert Slide (IN)

13 March 2012, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
Festival Theatre

Slide guitar virtuoso Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, here with his latest project Desert Slide, is a former student of Ravi Shankar who collaborated with Ry Cooder on the 1994 Grammy-winning album A Meeting by the River. One of the most important Indian musicians of the past two decades, Bhatt performs concerts regularly around the world both solo and collaborating in groups. His band, which enjoyed overwhelming success at the 2010 Womex, the number one showcase for world music, successfully blends traditional Rajasthani gypsy music with the distinctive sound of the slide guitar, building a stable bridge between traditional Indian music and the psychedelic sounds more palatable to a Western audience. They achieve this partly with the help of the Mohan Veena, a hybrid instrument with 19 strings devised by Bhatt himself based on a slide guitar. The instrument has been fully integrated into the family of traditional Indian instruments, its sound closely resembling that of the sitar while adopting a modern feel, yet adjusting well to the traditional style. (Indian guitar player Debashish Bhattacharya has produced some wonderful music in this style, his most successful album seeing him partner Hawaiian slide guitarist Bob Brozman, a good indicator of just how seriously world music circles are taking this hybrid genre.)
Considered the cream of Rajasthani musicians, Divana Rajasthan are responsible for the vocal, dhol and tabla accompaniment on Desert Slide. They catapult the audience to cathartic, ecstatic heights with the greatest of ease, and are just as masterful at maintaining this heightened state over time. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt states his artistic credo in similar terms: “The language of music God created for humanity. To me, music is a medium through which I communicate with God.”

Presented by: Palace of Arts

Prices: 1800, 3300, 4200 Ft