We are delighted to announce an additional date for the Sufi Sisters, Hashmat Sultana.
The duo will now also perform at Beck Theatre, London on Saturday 28 July.
Other performances include The Canteen Bristol and WOMAD Festival.
BECK THEATRE
Beck Theatre is situated in Hayes, London. A venue bustling with exciting events, the theatre also has a restaurant where you can dine before the performance. Find out more about Beck Theatre here.
HASHMAT SULTANA UK PERFORMANCES
If you are a fan of traditional and contemporary Punjabi folk and Sufi music from the Indian subcontinent we hope to see you at The Beck Theatre in London, WOMAD Festival or The Canteen in Bristol this July.
For more details visit our Hashmat Sultana event page.
We are delighted to announce we are producing a UK tour with Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali group in March 2019.
The internationally acclaimed Qawwali brothers Rizwan and Muazzam will be returning to the UK for the first time since the success and critical acclaim of their UK tour in March 2017.
They will tour to venues across the UK from 16 – 31 March 2019: full dates and venues to be announced soon.
BARBICAN CONCERT – ON SALE
Announced so far is their London date at the Barbican Centre on Saturday 30 March. Tickets are on sale now – you can book them here. After the mesmerising sold out show at the Barbican in 2017, we expect tickets to be snapped up, so don’t hang about.
Check out the live stream from their 2017 Barbican performance here.
We are pleased to announce a special warm up show for Hashmat Sultana at The Canteen Bristol.
The ‘Sufi Sisters’ will perform at The Canteen Bristol on Thursday 26 July before heading to WOMAD Charlton Park to perform at this year’s festival.
Hashmat Sultana have been winning the hearts of audiences throughout India with their refreshing take on traditional folk and ancient Sufi music, incredible versatility and powerful vocal performances.
THE CANTEEN BRISTOL
The Canteen is a great Bristol venue and supporter of live music with artists performing 7 days a week. Entry is free, but please do give generously to the donation bucket. Food and drinks will be available to buy (food served until 10pm). Find out more about The Canteen here.
HASHMAT SULTANA UK PERFORMANCES
If you are a fan of traditional folk and Sufi music from the Indian subcontinent we hope to see you at WOMAD Festival or The Canteen Bristol this July.
Red Baraat, “New York music scene’s best kept secret” (National Geographic) brought their high octane, gut-busting fusion of jazz, hip-hop beats, rock muscle, funky go-go, and scalding hot bhangra to the UK.
We were delighted to present Red Baraat at Rich Mix, London & The Louisiana in Bristol in May. Both shows were spectacular!
Red Baraat are a band with pure charisma and dance-prowess. As we look forward to summer times, we put together a playlist of some of our Red Baraat top tracks…
The Legendary, Classic Holi Track…
Their quick gig at Forbes News Room…
Shruggy Ji…
NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
The FIRST BHANGRA PARTY EVER at the Lincoln Center!…
Last year we supported urban Bhangra DJ, Indian Man, to attend Womex 2017 (World Music Expo), the largest annual conference for world music professionals. The conference is an exciting event. Artists are given the opportunity to network and establish new international projects.
Aashi (Asian Arts Agency) caught up with Indian Man. The DJ speaks on his Womex experience and the projects he was offered.
What was your experience at Womex like?
My experience at Womex was amazing. Really fruitful! Really surprising in a way actually, because you get to see the pure love for music and art but also how the business works. That’s quite surprising for someone who lives and breathes the musical world because you really learn what it’s about in terms of industry and production and how to get your stuff heard. Overall my experience at Womex was so fruitful. I found people were open and up for hearing everything. So what I brought to the table with Bhangra, garage and all these modern fusions of world music – people were really keen to hear it and supportive. They gave me feedback and advice, as well as gigs. I got a lot of gigs from it, which is great.
Did you get involved in any new projects by attending Womex?
By going to Womex I was given a resident DJ slot at Womad Chile, which is a huge, huge world music festival – a massive, massive gig for me. I was playing a club in Barcelona, I was offered a show in Poland and Amsterdam, a show in Italy as well, which is all about world music and collaborating Indian music with new genres which is really, really my field of what I want to do.
Did you have any special Womex moments?
I met a woman called Leyla McCalla. Although I love DJ’ing and doing Indian music, I also play Jazz for a living and have a huge passion for Trap Jazz. I met her in Poland and then I went to New Orleans to study Jazz and bumped into her again! I saw her play.
Has Womex been helpful to you?
It’s been hugely, hugely helpful. Particularly Jaswinder and the Asian Arts Agency, they have really supported me in this. Now, this year I have played Womad Chile, I’m going to play Womad UK, I’m playing shows in the Netherlands… I’m playing a festival every weekend for three months. And part of that is down to Womex and the help of the Agency. I’m really grateful.
One of the finest slide guitarists in the world, Debashish Bhattacharya, performed at St George’s, Bristol on 26 March 2018.
A REMARKABLE EVENING OF OUTSTANDING TALENT
Tabla player Sanju Sahai provided accompaniment. Being one of the finest tabla players of his generation, Sanju Sahai together with the maestro Debashish Bhattacharya, made the evening a unique experience.
The audience were thrilled and captivated by Debashish’s performance. A standing ovation and stamping of feet at the end of the concert signified the delight.
The Bollywood and Sufi singing star Harshdeep Kaur performed her debut solo UK concerts in March 2018, managed and produced by Asian Arts Agency.
The performances took place at London’s Barbican and Birmingham Town Hall.
BBC Radio 4 and more!
Harshdeep was interviewed by Samira Ahmed for BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, BBC Asian Network’s Raj & Pablo, Sikh Channel and Brit Asia prior to the concerts (+ many more).
Thanks @HarshdeepKaur for blessing London with your heavenly voice & angelic performance. Your versatility is just incredible. (And your musicians were just wonderful) #HarshdeepKaur
Wasn't she just. I am of Indian heritage but speak non of the Indian languages, shows that music is international. I understand why she is called 'Queen of Sufi'.
Sanju Sahai will accompany Hindustani slide guitar maestro Debashish Bhattacharya, on Monday 26 March.
Born into a traditional lineage of tabla players, Sanju Sahai’s ancestors are prolific tabla players. The torchbearer of the 200 year old Benares tradition is one of the finest and most sought after tabla players of his generation. We explore some interesting facts and get to know the artist and gharana better.
1. The founder of the Benares lineage was Pandit Ram Sahai Ji (1780-1826). It is said that he played for seven consecutive days for nawab Wazir Ali Khan.
2. The Benares gharana was founded when Pandit Ram Sahai Ji decided to go into seclusion for 6 months.
3. Pundit Durga Sahai Ji was a favourite accompanist of Ustad Inayat Khan, one of the most influential sitar and surbahar players of India.
4. Pandit Sharda Sahai Ji, Sanju Sahai’s father, is regarded as one of the ambassadors for spreading awareness on the tabla both in the East and West.
5. Sanju Sahai started off as a child prodigy. he gave his first performance at the age of 9 at a prominent Benares festival.
6. At 13 he gained his Bachelor of Music and at 19, Master of Music.
7. Sanju Sahai has accompanied prolific artists including: Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia (bansuri), Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Bhajan Sapori (santoor), Ustad Vilayat Khan Saheb, Ustaad Imrat Khan Saheb, Ustaad Shahid Parvez, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty -this is just naming a few!
8. Sanju collaborates with various international artists from around the globe, including: Manuela Carrasco (Flamenco dance), Michael Nyman (British composer), Patricia Rozario (opera), BBC Philharmonic, Naresh Sohal (composer), Pete Lockett (multi percussionist), Yair Dalal (oud), Jason Carter (guitarist), Matthew Barley and Anup Biswas (cellists), Don Li (clarinet), Harp Quartet, Dominique Vellard (Gregorian chant), Gilles Petit (composer and instrumentalist) and the acclaimed dancer Akram Khan.
Debashish Bhattacharya is a prodigy who has helped Indian classical music evolve. Born into a family of musicians, Debashish was given fertile soil to explore his question of why he could not play traditional ragas on the guitar… He found a way.
1. Debashish was only three years old when he began strumming on a Hawaiian lap steel guitar. The guitar had been a gift to his father, a traditional Indian vocalist.
2. At four years old, Debashish Bhattacharya performed on All India Radio, Kolkata.
3. Debashish invented the Trinity of Guitars. These consist of the Chaturangi, Gandharvi and Anandi. The guitars are played whilst sitting crosslegged. The guitar is held on the lap and played with a small steel bar, metal picks and a celluloid thumb pick.
4. Some of the world renowned musicians Debashish has played with are Ustad Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Jerry Douglas and Derek Trucks.
5. Debashish Bhattacharya was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award in category of Best Traditional World Music Album for his album Calcutta Chronicles.
6. Debashish performed for the legendary Ravi Shankar in India.
THE INFLUENCE OF TAU MOE
7. Papa Tau Moe introduced the Hawaiian lap steel guitar to India in the late 1920’s. The Tau Moe Hawaiian band EMMI lived in Kolkatta from 1941 – 1947 and they made many records with HMV and EMI.
8. Debashish Bhattacharya’s music holds strong bonds with Papa Tau Moe. Garney Nyss, Tau Moe’s top student in India, was great friends and musical sparring partner with Debashish’s childhood guitar teacher Rajat Nandi.
9. Debashish Bhattacharya received Tau Moe’s blessing in 2004 when he visited Hawaii. In Debashish Bhattacharya’s own words:
“Papa Tau was in his nineties. Even after being away from India for almost sixty years, spoke beautiful Bengali … He shared with us many stories of his amazing life and gave me his blessing. As long as I live that meeting will remain one of the highlights of my life.”
10. Debashish paid tribute to Tau Moe through the album “Hawaii to Calcutta” in 2017.
