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8/12/01
Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix
WORLD PREMEIRE
Stern Grove Festival, SF, CA

In what could have been likened to the Monterey Pop Festival or Woodstock,
this free show in Stern Grove on Saturday 8/12/01, brought back that infamous 'happening' feel of the free spirited psychedelic yester-years.

The Festival featured an exciting world premiere performance by the artists featured on the album Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix (axiom records) "a hypnotic synthesis of classical Indian rhythms with electronica". Appearing for the first time live together was one of the world's foremost tabla players, Zakir Hussain, legendary producer and bassist Bill Laswell, sarangi master Ustad Sultan Khan, and "Asian Massive" producer/tabla/multi-instrumentalist Karsh Kale. Special guests included Gigi, a vocalist from Ethiopia, San Francisco's own DJ Disk, and The MIDIval PunditZ.

As Zakir made his welcoming comments about what we were about to hear, the sun triumphantly broke through the thick San Francisco clouds to shine down gloriously on the capacity crowd. Bodies were spread everywhere, tucked in every nook the grove had to spare, while this revolutionary tribe of musical geniuses entranced the crowd.

This concert was a beautiful snapshot of the NOW, bridging both the ancient and the future. As dragonflies danced to the heartbeat of transcendental spiritual fusion, what we felt was truly beyond religion, a sound derived from the muse of musical ecstasy.

The mind boggling, intricate, lightening rhythms of the tabla, mixed with the throbbing pulsating bass grooves and bombs dropped by Laswell, combined with the traditional elements of classical Indian music and modern electronica fused a new sound that could surely move mountains. We can only hope this super group continues to perform live.

Please enjoy some Real Audio live samples from the show > >
(shif- click to download)

sample 1
sample 2
sample 3
sample 4

Check out www.axiom-records.com for music by Bill Laswell.
Check out Zakir with Ali Akbar Khan at the Marin Center
on Saturday 8/25/01 - order tickets
Check out Karsh Kale's new album REALIZE
Check out Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix on Rykodisc

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read 7.06.01 MERCURY Rider

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