Sarathy Korwar - My East Is Your West (feat. Upaj Collective) (Live) (2018)

Sarathy Korwar is a percussionist, composer, field recordist, and musicologist. Though born in the United States, he was raised in India and is based in London, England. His music combines East Indian music, jazz, and electronics.

Raised in Ahmedabad and Chennai by parents who were trained Indian classical singers, Korwar began his own musical education with the tabla at age eight. By 15, he was under the sway of jazz. He has cited John Coltrane and Ahmad Jamal as early influences. At 17, he began a study program in environmental science in Pune. His love of the tabla was unabated, and he studied Indian classical music with Rajeev Devasthali. Korwar also began translating his rhythmic skills to a standard Western drum kit. Finishing his primary studies, Korwar began to think about a music career and immigrated to London. He studied with master classical tabla player Pandit Sanju Sahai and graduated with a Master of Music in Performance from the School of Oriental and African Studies. The focus of his thesis was the adaptation of the Indian classical rhythmic canon to non-Indian percussion instruments.

After finishing school, he became a fixture on the London scene. He gained experience as a drummer and percussionist in a variety of settings. He worked in jazz and improvised music with Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, clarinetist Arun Ghosh, saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, and South African composer, multi-instrumentalist, and researcher Cara Stacey. He also played with Indian classical musicians Pandit Ajay Prasanna, Pandit Bhajan Sopori, and Padmashree Pandit Pratap Pawar.

Korwar cemented an idea for a solo project he'd held for some time. He began planning a trip to India to field record the music of the Sidis, descendents of African tribes who came to India in the seventh century C.E. as merchants, sailors, slaves, and mercenaries. Their rhythms, vocal styles, and dances are the only remaining links to their culture of origin. Working the various music scenes in London, Korwar heard about the Steve Reid Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Gilles Peterson in commemoration of the late jazz drummer. Its twofold objective of helping musicians in crisis and supporting emerging talent provided Korwar with an impetus. He applied with a three-minute video and was accepted into its development program, and was mentored through his project by Peterson and foundation patrons Four Tet (Kieran Hebden), Floating Points, Koreless, and Emanative.

Korwar traveled to rural Gujarat to record the Sidi Troupe of Ratanpur in the field, and later added another session in a professional studio in Pune. Jazz and electronic musicians – including Hutchings – were also added later. "Indefinite Leave to Remain" was released as a digital single in April 2016. Korwar's debut album, Day to Day, was released by Ninja Tune in July of that year, followed by a tour with Kamasi Washington. ~ Thom Jurek

Tracklist:

01. A Street In Bombay (Amancio D’Silva)
02. The Creator Has A Master Plan (Pharoah Sanders, Leon Thomas)
03. Mind Ecology (John McLaughlin and Shakti)
04. Malkauns (Part 1) (Shankar-Jaikishan)
05. Malkauns (Part 2) (traditional)
06. Journey In Satchidananda (Alice Coltrane)
07. Hajj (Abdullah Ibrahim)
08. Earth (Joe Henderson)
09. Mishrank (Jazzmine) (Ravi Shankar)
10. Utopia And Visions (Don Cherry)