Photos: Karthik Ranganathan
Graphics: Rutger Muller
In Reflections, Shashwathi Jagadish and Rutger Muller create entrancing fusions of Carnatic (South Indian) music and ambient-techno.
Shashwathi’s singing, with its expressive Carnatic ornaments (gamaka), gets interwoven with Rutger’s cosmic drones and electro-acoustic grooves.
With influences ranging from folklore to dub and drone (inspired by the shimmering tones of the tanpura), new patterns emerge from ancient wisdom.
90 sec preview • 45 min concert
Programme:
Finding Ghambiranata
Raga: Gambhira Nattai
Composer: Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi
Lord Ganesha is worshiped as the remover of obstacles and in this composition, he is called the conqueror of obstacles, as the composer talks about his greatness and glory!
Thillana
Raga: Mohana Kalyani
Composer: Lalgudi Jayaraman
Thillana is a traditional Carnatic composition which is rhythmic and vibrant and widely sung for Indian Classical dance.
Elli Jaaritho Manavu
Raga: Kalyana Vasantha
Composers: N.S.Lakshmi, Narayana Bhatta
Elli Jaritho manavu… where has my mind slipped, why is it wandering and restless. This composition revolves around a haunting melody – about the wandering mind that never stops!
Bio Shashwathi Jagadish
Shashwathi Jagadish is a Carnatic vocalist from Chennai (India), trained for over two decades under distinguished Gurus. At the age of 15, she was awarded the title Sangeetha Bhaskara and has since performed extensively across India and on national television.
She also has experience singing for films, having recorded vocals for world renowned composers such as Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman.
Now based in The Hague, she is the founder of Nādya Mā́rga, a Carnatic music school dedicated to training children and adults.
Through her school and her own performances, she is actively engaged in preserving tradition while exploring cross-cultural collaborations across Europe.
Bio Rutger Muller
Rutger Muller is an electro-acoustic composer and designer based in Limburg, the Netherlands.
Inspired by avant-garde music, ancient (improvised) traditions and underground club cultures, he dedicates his practice to the exploration of mysticism: the grey area between meditative and uncanny sound; the fricative, free energy that floats right in between harmony and dissonance.
By freeing music from predefined chronologies and emotions, he aims to reveal parts of our subconscious, our abstract, cosmic origins.
Rutger holds an MA in Music Technology from the HKU Arts University and has extensively collaborated with game designers, choreographers, film makers, visual artists and others.
