A select audience thoroughly embraced the joyous energy emanating from Shades of Shakti’s performance in the Clarkson Studio, Regent Theatre, on Wednesday night.
The ensemble of four emulate the work first done by Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin in the 1980s of introducing classical Western music and musicians to classical Indian music. This fusion has been a very fertile area for creatives to expand into the realm of jazz to the delight of audiences for whom Hindustani and Carnatic music presents an exciting innovation.
Touring New Zealand with assistance from Creative New Zealand and manager Steve Thomas, Shades of Shakti combine pre-recorded drone, rhythmic asymmetry and repeated patterns to ground their melodic improvisations.
The energetic and sometimes frenetic pace is playfully punctuated with splashes of silence.
The obvious joy of the four players, inspired by Jim McLaughlin’s album Shakti infectiously embellishes that of the music. The overall effect is transporting.
Shades of Shakti’s innovations include getting the Western drums (Thomas Friggens) to emulate that of the Tabla (Basant Madhur) and guitars (Justin Firefly Clarke) and violin (Tristan Carter) to emulate the sitar.
The musicianship required of all players is extraordinary.
Many of the works have been composed by Carter.
One, inspired by calling the names of the seven tabla strokes (Bol) to create a rhythmic pattern shared by all players, was truly exhilarating.
The audience needed no great encouragement to join in. Motion, Rocket, Joy contribute to a growing repertoire.
Their interpretation of the inspirational Swara-Kakali, originally performed by Menuhin and Shankar in 1988, pushes the overall sound towards the Western soundscape.
Guitars lack the vibrancy of the sitar, but create a mellow sound. The Western drum kit lends the music a more emphatic beat than the Tabla.
The differences do not detract from the overall captivating and enchanting sound.
