Category Archives: Event

NEW DATES ADDED: Rakesh Chaurasia and Shashank Subramanyam, February 2024

We are delighted to be collaborating with St George’s Bristol to bring two of the most prominent Indian flautists to the UK on 17th February 2024. We are also presenting these two talented artists at Cadogan Hall, London on 18th February 2024.

The Indian flute players will be collaborating with UK based artists Shahbaz Hussain on tabla and another Carnatic percussion musician. Presented by St George’s Bristol in partnership with Asian Arts Agency.

Rakesh is a child prodigy and the nephew of flute maestro Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. Just like his legendary uncle, Rakesh possesses the right balance of strength and serenity, very critical factors for an exceptional flautist. His dextrous blowing technique coupled with his training of ‘Swar’ and ‘Tala’ exudes adeptly in his emotions through the hollow piece of bamboo. Rakesh has enthralled audiences at classical and semi-classical concerts worldwide.

Trained by father Subramanyam and legendary vocalists Palghat K.V. Narayanaswami and Pandit Jasraj in Hindustani Music, Shashank is presently considered one of the best Bamboo Flute artists and is hailed so by the Indian and international media alike. The BBC World TV telecast a documentary on Shashank titled Destination Music in 2006.

This unique Indian flute concert will feature two of the most prominent Indian flute players in the world collaborating with UK based artists Shahbaz Hussain on Tabla and Bangalore Parkash on Carnatic percussion.

For a taste of their performance, click here 

To book tickets for St George’s, click here (if you have booked tickets for the previously announced date, please contact the venue) 

To book tickets for Cadogan Hall, click here

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Full New Soundz line up announced!

With just over three weeks to go, we’re excited to announce that our full New Soundz festival line up is confirmed!

There’s something for everyone taking place at Arnolfini, from classical sitars, nature inspired fusion and immersive soundscapes as well as talks, workshops and DJs.

There’s no better time to get your New Soundz tickets! You can purchase individual headline event tickets or a festival weekend pass which offers a saving of £10 on buying each event separately. Additionally, many events are free to enter but may need registration – you can find relevant links below.

On Friday 10th November the incredible Jason Singh, in collaboration with tabla player Aref Durvesh, multi-instrumentalist Tamar Osborn, and keys player,  Al MacSween will be opening the New Soundz festival at Arnolfini. This performance promises to explore a broad spectrum of soundscapes, drawing inspiration from Indian classical ragas, jazz, ambient, avant-garde hip hop, dub, and the natural world. His show will be followed by a DJ set, performed by Jason himself.

Saturday 11th November sees a full day of activities, kicking off with Roopa Panesar celebrating the morning with ragas from her subliminal 2022 album, Subha. Following her performance, she will undertake a short Q&A from the audience so come with any questions you have about her creative, classical expertise in sitar.

During the day at Arnolfini, visitors will have a chance to participate in a free North Indian vocal workshop with Ranjana Ghatak – two time slots (2pm and 4.30pm) are available, and it is recommended that you book in advance. These events are suitable for all ages so come along with your friends and family to learn how to sing in a North Indian style.

There will also be free DJ sets taking place between performances from some of the UK’s leading South Asian DJs in various spaces at Arnolfini, so if you’re passing by, pop in!

On Saturday and Sunday, there will be the opportunity to experience live Indian music performances via VR headsets. Our prototype films have been created as part of our commitment to exploring ways to make performances accessible to all audiences and we’d love you to check it out and hear your views.

Saturday night closes with an exciting first chance to see a brand new immersive work from Soumik Datta, called Mone Rekho, which means remember in Bengali, this performance promises to engage all your senses.

Sunday 12th November is Diwali and we’re delighted that veena player and South Indian musician, Durga Ramakrishnan will be performing a free concert in the gallery at Arnolfini to help us see in the festival of lights and close the New Soundz festival. This event is not ticketed and will be open to all to drop in and enjoy.

We hope you’ll join us at one or many of the events taking place at Arnolfini over the weekend and we can’t wait to celebrate contemporary South Asian music.

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New acts announced for New Soundz Festival at Arnolfini

With just over five weeks to go, we are delighted to announce further acts as part of the line up for the New Soundz Festival at Arnolfini, Bristol, on the 10 – 12 November 2023.

To get your pulses racing as we head into the weekend, there will be an exclusive DJ set from headliner, beatboxer and sound artist, Jason Singh on Friday night.

During the day on Saturday 11 November, Indian and Hindustani vocal specialist, Ranjana Ghatak will be delivering two 1-hour workshops, providing an introduction to the key concepts of North Indian Vocal music rooted in the classical tradition.

On Sunday 12 November, Bristol based veena virtuoso and leading artist on All India Radio, Durga Ramakrishnan will be giving off chilled Sunday vibes performing in the gallery at Arnolfini. The veena is an ancient Indian string instrument, dating back to the first millennium BC, that would traditionally be played at temples to accompany the sound of hymns.

To gain access to all of these events, additional workshops, immersive experiences, talks as well as well as our three headline acts (Jason Singh, Roopa Panesar and Soumik Datta), we’ve just launched a festival pass for £35pp.

So, what are you waiting for?

Book your tickets now

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Strands | Asian Arts Agency

‘Strands’ – Upcoming Project

We are delighted to introduce our upcoming project in partnership with PRS for Music Foundation. 

‘Strands’ is an electronica meets Sufi world music audio/visual collaboration performance by award winning British Indian electronic music composer DJ Swami, popular British Iraqi vocalist Lanja Ali, upcoming British Indian fusion vocalist Unnati Dasgupta and BBC Future Sounds 2020 sarangi player Amrit Kaur. ‘Strands’ is an emotional cinematic musical journey of solace and optimism fused with the uplifting Sufi and Qawwali lyrics of love and spirituality exploring the unique experiences of isolation, loneliness, belonging and soul searching in this different world we all find ourselves in. ‘Strands is coming soon!

Find out more about the artists below.

DJ Swami live imageDJ SWAMI

Diamond Duggal aka DJ Swami is an established British Indian music composer and producer. He has composed and produced a diversity of artist albums for Shania Twain, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Apache Indian. DJ Swami was commissioned by Asian Arts Agency as lead artist and composer for ‘PunjabTronix’ as part of ACE ‘Re-Imagine India’. DJ Swami’s music is currently featured in the number one Netflix series ‘Indian Matchmaking’.

Lanja Ali | Asian Arts AgencyLANJA ALI

Lanja Ali is a singer and songwriter. She has been singing professionally since 2012 and is very well established in Kurdistan, north of Iraq. Lanja sings in different languages and genres including Kurdish, Farsi, Arabic, Bollywood and Turkish.

Unnati Dasgupta | Strands Artist | Asian Arts AgencyUNNATI DASGUPTA

Unnati is a London-born singer, songwriter and musician, the scion of Indian classical music royalty – and a woman of remarkable gifts. Recent highlights include performing at Westminster Abbey as part of a memorial service for famed director Lord Richard Attenborough. Unnati’s voice appeared in a sound  installation in the South Asian Gallery in the Victoria & Albert Museum and she has since been the opening act on the main stage at the 2019 WOMAD UK festival.

Amrit Kaur | Asian Arts AgencyAMRIT KAUR

Described as the place “where Punjabi folk meets Aretha soul” by OZY magazine, Amrit Kaur is a Sarangi player and singer-songwriter. A history graduate of SOAS, University of London, her musical repertoire is profoundly influenced by the social history and culture of Punjabi women. She was named a BBC Asian Network Future Sounds 2020 Artist as well as BBC Music Introducing artist. Praised for her live ability by legendary producer Rick Rubin, her notable performances include Glastonbury Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival and the UN General Assembly with Skip Marley for World Children’s Day.

This project is supported by PRS for Music Foundation and Asian Arts Agency.

PRS Foundation Logo

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