Christian Auer
the
world of percussion
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Karuna
Moorthy (Thavil) He started learning thavil at the age of ten under Narayana Paniker(Haripad). After three years Karuna went to Tamil Nadu for furthering his knowledge. Having drafted as a student under the traditional indian „Gurukula" system where a student lives with his teacher and becomes a virtual part of the latters family, Karuna began the second phase of his learning under Tanjavur Govindharaj. A student with an insatiable thirst for music, he later learnt under the tutelage of Tiruvidaimarudur Venkatesh, the world renowned tavil maestro Valayapatti Subramanyam and Mannarkudi Vasudevan |
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Murugadas
(Nadhaswaram) Our dear friend and one of the best young Nadhaswaram player from Kerala, Murugadas is already an accomplished artist who matches the best. Again, a musician who was trained in the Carnatic school, he switched with ease to the complex rhythm patterns with his melliflous melody. He is a winner of several awards at the university level. He is a disciple of the great Nadhaswara Vidwan (master) Chellappa Panicker and now studying and playing with nadhaswara maestro tiruvizha jayasankar he is a graded artist from a.i.r trivandrum and working as a tutor in kshetra kala peetom vaikom. |
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Balussery Krishnadas
(Chenda and Edakka) A dedicated artiste with a good heart, Krishnadas has been a great help to this album. Our five-year long friendship with Krishnadas has brought in more than music. It was him who introduced us to his `Guru' (master) the Chenda maestro Mattanoor Sankarankutty and Krishna Kumar who played Sitar with us. Like his `Guru', he too, has learned from the great master Sadanam Vasudevan. He is a graded artist of All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He now works as a tutor at the temple arts institute Kshetra Kala Peetom. . |
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Mattanoor Sankarankutty
(Chenda) The undisputed master of Chenda, another Temple percussion unique to Kerala. His is a name that spells mastery over a drum tradition patronised by the Hindu religion and the erstwhile royal families. He is the most proficient Chenda player in the traditional Kerala temple percussion ensembles like Chendamelam, Thayambaka and Panchavadyam. Having been initiated by his father, he later went to the great maestro Sadanam Vasudevan for his higher studies. In a very short time, Sankarankutty blossomed into a virtuos artist within a short span of time. The dicated percussionist he is, Sankarankutty has played all over India and Europe. Recently he performed in Britain and Poland. On a different plane, he acted in a recent Indian movie (in Malayalam language) with superstar Mohanlal.Titled`Vaanaprastham' (Exile) the movie went on to receive plaudits all over the world, especially at European filmfestivals. Weaving the rhythm to the movies musical score, which was written by renowned Indian Table wizard, Ustad Zakir Hussain, his accompaniment on Chendastands out as a stellar performance in the classic score. We bow before his contribution to this album and thank him for all his help in making this a fruitful venture. |
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Renuka (vocal) We proudly introduce a young talented Carnatic classical vocalist to the fusion music world. Hailing from a traditional Carnatic classical background, Renuka adapted well with our universal style of making music, as is evident from her renditions in this album. She is a recipient of a Carnatic vocal scholarship in 1992. She has also won the famous Sat Chit Ananada Mission Award for her concert at the Parliament of Religions. |
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Naveen
(Flutes) No composition of acclaimed Indian music composers Ilayaraja or AR Rahman is complete without the flute bits of Naveen. Originallyfrom Andhra Pradesh (another Southern Indian state), he is now settled in the South Indian movie capital Chennai. The melody that flows out of the reed of his young master has set the trend for many a modern Indian film tune. A traditionally trained flautist, his adaptation of western variations makes him a rarity. The same dexterity of his renditions can be heard in this album, too |
