19
Sep 2024
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Uncovering Urban Legacies: Stories of Bombay's Precincts - Mazagon
Coomaraswamy Hall, CSMVS, Mumbai - 400001
Royal Opera House, Mumbai in collaboration with Avid Learning presents, Ta Dhom Project by Viveick Rajagopalan featuring The Dhols of Maharashtra - premiering for the first time on our stage!
Ta Dhom Project fuses together Konnakol,
a unique vocal percussion derived from the sounds of the Mridangam and
the world of rap, bringing the two worlds together in a unique sound creating a
harmony in duality.
The evening is
headlined by Viveick Rajagopalan on Mridangam, Percussions and Abelton
with a trio of rappers MC Dehaati a.k.a Akash Pandey (Bhojpuri), MC
Artslord a.k.a Kalaivanan Kannan (Tamil) and MC Khoj a.k.a Ganesh
Sonkamble (Marathi & Hindi) accompanied by Sayar Mitra on
Bass and Joshua Fernandes on Keyboard.
Infusing raw bold energy with their
rhythmic beats to this unique ensemble are the Dhols of Maharashtra featuring Swarangi
Savdekar & Yamini Khamkar on Dhols with Pranav Dixit
& Guarang Dalvi on Taasha/ Jhaanj.
Join us for a one-of-a-kind fusion
performance exploring the sounds of percussion with a contemporary twist.
Viveick Rajagopalan is a musician and composer, straddling both worlds with equal ease. Trained under the Carnatic tradition on the majestic percussive instruments mridangam and kanjira, Viveick uses his classical roots to compose music that moves between many styles. His music is stamped with this unique sound, reflecting his influences from electronic, drum-n-bass to jazz and folk. His ability and determined diligence to retain the unique flavour of Indian music while seamlessly integrating it into his collaborations and performance, is unmatched among many other musicians of his time. His work has won him several awards, from the Most Mind Blowing Music Video Award at AVIMA in 2009 for ‘Snake in the City’, to Best Folk Fusion Artist Award at the Radio City – Freedom Radio Awards in 2013 for his single ‘Quest’. Over nearly 2 decades as performer and composer, Viveick has toured and collaborated with musicians from all over the world. He performed at the International Jazz Festival ‘96, Thailand, at the age of 18, along with Dinshaw Sanjana and a host of talented Jazz artists. He represented India at the Commonwealth Concert Tour in 2002 with Music director, Courtney Pine and other well-known musicians from the Commonwealth nations. Viveick is the disciple of Guru Shri T.S .Nandakumar. He is a musician and composer who is always seeking to push boundaries & obliterate them to make different sounds come together. He has collaborated with a galaxy of artists like Richard Bona, Bugge Wesseltoft, Chinese Man, Shri, Bauchklang and Lucky Ali to name a few. His Ta Dhom Project performed at some of the biggest festivals like WOMAD, OSLO MELA,SHAMABALA and lot of the other venues in UK and Europe. One of the most successful Bollywood films “Gully Boy” had his track India 91 which was inspired by the sound of “Ta Dhom Project”.
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Hip Hop Music
The foundation of
Hip Hop as a cultural movement was laid around the 1970s in New York. Hip Hop
comprises four elements: deejaying, or “turntabling”; rapping, also called
“MCing” or “rhyming”; graffiti painting, also known as “graf” or “writing”; and
“B-boying,” which encompasses hip-hop dance, style, and attitude. Hip Hop had
several pioneers, of which DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster
Flash were quite popular and known as the “Holy Trinity” of hip-hop. The
mid-1980s and early 1990s era was called the golden age of hip-hop. The Hip Hop
culture continues to evolve and influence today’s society while connecting
young people with fundamental ideas of social awareness, and identity, as well
as purpose.
Konnakol
- the art of reciting
Konnakol, a
Carnatic art form is considered the ‘mother of all percussive languages,
instruments, and traditions’. Konnakol is the onomatopoetic drum syllable
language in Solkattu and It is accompanied by the hand gesture counting system
associated with the mridangam.
It is one of the most complex, intricate, aesthetically designed, advanced vocal rhythmic systems in the world with its unmatched depth, stature, and range. Konnakol has journeyed across the world, even with its strong Indian roots. More and more musicians and dancers from different backgrounds are exploring new and exciting facets of rhythm with Konnakal.
Dhol-Tasha
Tradition in Maharashtra
The Dhol-Tasha is a
combination of percussion instruments. They were originally used during
performances before the war to lift the spirits of soldiers who fought the war,
later used by king’s officials for announcements to the general public and now
they are used during festivals and for celebrations. Dr. Vishwanath Vinayak
Pendse aka Appasaheb Pendse, a revolutionary and an educationist started the
tradition of playing the Dhol at Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations during the 1960s
riots. The tradition was first seen in Pune and Nashik and it still continues
across other places in Maharashtra. The Pathak groups are carrying forward the
legacy and the art form continues to grow while being explored by artists on
different platforms and several occasions.
Ta Dhom
Project
Master
percussionist Viveick Rajagopalan founded Ta Dhom. The two words Ta Dhom
represent syllable/sounds ‘Ta’ and ‘Dhom’ with a deeper symbolization of two
worlds, ideas, and cultures. Classical Music and Hip Hop represent this very
concept of -“The Two Worlds”, and yet the harmony that lies hidden between
their duality. The journey of the
project began with sessions in a park teaching, sharing, and learning an art
form called “Konnakol” and today they have been able to discover a subtext in the
Hip Hop Culture with a unique Indian twist ready to be shared with the world.
To complete the circle, they used the Mridangam and Kanjira to create a
foundation of grooves/beats. Ta Dhom team believes this has allowed us to keep
the ethnicity of the sound, raw, bold, and intact.
