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Carnatic Fusion Bands that are Bringing in the Waves
World Fusion might be a tough ballgame in itself but Carnatic Fusion is a wonderful mastery altogether . The tremendous scope of the genre led many legendary Carnatic musicians to explore realms from the roots by collaborating with Jazz , Rock , Heavy Metal or even Chillout genres and yet bring out amazing results . The richness of Carnatic music lies in its melodic strength . Perhaps this is the reason why many Carnatic musicians had no problem to fuse with almost every international genre present in the world without much efforts . For this lovely Margazhi season which celebrates the grandeur and eternity of Carnatic music , we bring you the top seven Carnatic based fusion bands that brought in the musical waves for decades altogether :
1 . Remember Shakti : Featuring the top legends of the globe such as John Mclaughlin , Zakir Hussain , U . Srinivas , Shankar Mahadevan and many more , the band is a revolution in itself . Their fusion ensemble of Giriraja Suta is a marvel even till date . The unique blend between Classical Carnatic music to Jazz drumming , complex poly rhythms of Cuba leading to Hindustani Tabla- everything Remember Shakti created ( and still creating ) is sheer magic .
2 . Madras String Quartet : Carnatic Music and Western Classical Music has many features in common such as discipline , chord progression and somewhere the blend happens effortlessly . Madras String Quartet harmonized the amazing melodic progressions of Carnatic music by adding lilting layers of strings – to bring in fantastic fusion moods . They brought in a royal feel of western grandeur to every Carnatic composition which is truly deserving of course .
3 . Karnatrik : A fantastic band that has given rock twist to Carnatic music with Jazz undertones .
With the usage of Saarangi to give a north Indian touch , this band cannot be missed at all ! The way they have harmonized the melodic progressions of Carnatic compositions is exemplary .
4 . Colonial Cousins : The decade of 90s has celebrated Indipop like no other decade could do . Featuring the extremely talented vocalist Hariharan along with the sound master Leslie Lewis , Colonial Cousins have brought Krishna Ne Begane Baro- a Carnatic masterpiece a new twist altogether . Their music may be based on Indian classical , but the universal aspect of music is something the band always followed . Listen to their Indian Rain- based on raaga Brindavana Saaranga with some magical guitar and suave counter vocals by Leslie Lewis .
5 . Sikkil Gurucharan and Anil Srinivasan : A sweet duo featuring marvellous vocals by Sikkil in Carnatic style powered by amazing grand piano chords of Anil Srinivasan . Their album Madhirakshi is a crowd ’ s favorite always and forever . Their band proved time and again that minimalism can bring some greater impact always in comparison to grandeur .
6 . Ragabop Trio : Featuring the wonderfully talented Guitar Prasanna , Ragabop has been doing some impressive global fusions . They have multiple influences that are not just confined to Carnatic music- and that ’ s what makes them extra special to hear .
7 . Agam : Relatively a modern band , led by Harish Shivaramakrishnan ’ s powerful vocals , this band has given a Hard rock twist to Carnatic Music . Their biggest strength is the strong rhythm section fused with mesmerizing lead guitar solos . Their Swans of Saraswati ( based on Saint Thyagaraja ’ s Bantu Reeti Koluvu ) and Dhanasri Tillana are two amazing masterpieces from the band . Their recent laid back rendition of Saint Thayagaraja Swami ’ s Manavi Aalakincharaadate also garnered much praise and admiration .
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