Folk with a lot of funk

Kartick & Gotam take listeners on an unforgettable musical journey through Asia and the Middle East.

It is only fitting that Kartick and Gotam’s (K&G) latest album was created on an airport. After all, Business Class Refugees is electro-folk without borders—a global, collaborative project of local music from around the world.

Taking their base tracks around the world, music producer Kartick (Patrick Sebag) and sound designer Gotam (Yotam Agam) collaborate with local musicians to overlay folk tunes and lyrics with electronica, creating soulful music with zing.

In the opening track, Bonjour, Mahesh Vinayakram’s resounding vocals blend effortlessly with the evocative strains of Armenian wind instrument, duduk, while renowned French bassist Mishko M’ba, converses with flautist Navin Iyer and Yoav Bunzel’s rhythmic drums. K&G’s groovy electronics flow through the track, adding pace and tempo. The musical conversations finish with the Tashi Lumpo Monastery monk’s long horns—a cosmic sound of reverberating power that reaches the depths of your soul, lighting it up as if for an eternity.

Equally evocative are Boye Boye from Tajikistan, Punjabi folk song, Heer and classical Carnatic composition Vellai Thaamarai, reinvented for the modern lounge. Although ‘remix’ and fusion’ have become dirty words in some music circles, K&G are convinced about their work.

“Even if its folk music, it has to keep evolving, so our base is always respectful of the roots and tradition,” says Kartick. “It is my perspective of that actual piece of music… like a chef making a fusion dish of one or more traditional food, or making it his way.”

Gotam acknowledges their work may not be understood and appreciated by everyone. “Living in India for so many years I have faced it (criticism from traditionalists), but for every one person who felt offended, I met a hundred who were fascinated, and appreciative.”

No listener could however deny the rich tapestry of musical traditions and styles the album traverses, propelling the listener into fascinatingly unfamiliar territories, taking the idea of armchair travelling to a whole new level.

The Israeli duo credits the multicultural environment of their early years for this interest in global music. “The old neighbourhoods that we grew up in had immigrants from everywhere, so we got exposed to music from all over the world - Russia, Poland, Morocco, India, Romania,” says Kartick. “I grew up in the desert for 15 years, spending lots of time with nomad tribes, and Israel is a melting pot of culture,” adds Yotam.

“(Traditional music is) old, has a history and culture behind it,” says Kartick. “We're hungry to know about and explore other cultures, and to know the stories behind the songs and music.”

Their album too has an interesting story behind it. On their way from South India to a remote village in Aceh, Indonesia, they ran into visa problems in transit through Singapore and were forced to wait indefinitely at the airport. While most of us would have complained and sulked, Kartick and Gotam made music on their laptops using recordings of indigenous music they gathered during their journey through Asia. Thus, Business Class Refugees was born.

Although the album was programmed mainly at the airport, the original recordings were done across Israel and India—at times, on location. “The thrill is in actually being there as it happens - the smells, hear the children, sweating... it changes the way you hear traditional music in its original environment,” says Kartick. “It's the difference between theatre and cinema - a real time experience.”

Gotam recollects a special moment recording on location: “Visiting the Sufi musicians in their village and setting up a mobile studio in a tiny house packed with 100 people that all centred on one thing—music!” It is this freshness of sound and experience in Business Class Refugees that you will not find in other more pristine, studio bound projects.

Collaboration, especially with local musicians, lies at the centre of their musical practice. Every local artist and traditional source is carefully attributed in their album. “In a way yes it's a way to promote lesser known music,” says Kartick. Yotam adds, “Music is the only way to reach world peace.”

And these are not just empty words of a utopian dream—Kartick and Gotam have lived the cliché of making a difference through cross-cultural collaborations in music. The duo were part of the seminal Laya Project, an audio visual documentary celebrating music from communities devastated by the 2004 Asian tsunami. “It was a different kind of wave that brought us all together to give their best for this project that took over two and half years to record, film and post produce,” says Kartick. “It is a very special project close to our hearts.”

The project has also travelled extensively as The Laya Project Live!—a show of over 24 musicians on stage from diverse music traditions and styles, video art and light design. “(It is) a show that has a long life and relevance,” says Kartick. The show opened the Perth Festival earlier this year.

Kartick and Gotam are looking at future collaborations with Australian artists and will also perform in Melbourne on the opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo on November 19, 2009. Gotam says, “(Performing in Perth) was great, the crowd was very different from the crowd in India but again music is an amazing bridge and it worked.”

Business Class Refugees is available for purchase via Planet Imports in Australia in stores, and online via iTunes or http://www.earthsync.com/

Kartick & Gotam will perform live on the opening night of the Australasian World Music Expo on November 19, 2009 in Melbourne. For more details visit: www.awme.com.au