PRESSE, HINDUSTAN TIMES

Trance concert gives music an 'Xtra' dimension

THE NATARAJ XT Indian Trance Concert held at the Bal Bhawan in Sector 23 today proved to be a mind-blowing experience.

The show started an hour behind schedule much to the chagrin of the hundred-odd people assembled there, but once it started it had everyone in thrall.

The concert was basically a mix of North Indian classical music and western techno music with Pierre Moitram on the sitar and Richard Bernet on the sarod with Kapi as the percussionist.

Says Richard Bernet: "Classical Indian music is essentially melodic and monotonal, the machines enable us to enrich the harmonies of our compositions," that is how the group derive their names. "Everyone knows what Nataraj stands for. We give it an extra dimension by adding western techno music to it, hence the 'XT' as in extension," adds Pierre Moitram.

Interestingly, there was a last minute improvisation on the programme. Chandigarh's own improvised guitar player Subhash Bose also joined the troupe at the last moment.

The show went off quite well and a few in the audience even broke into a dance. But there were some glitches, probably because of Bose's last minute entry. Though Trans is characterised by a predominance of heavy beats at some points it also seemed that the percussion over shadowed the other instruments.

Otherwise the musicians displayed excellent control over their instruments and made the concert an unforgettable experience for Chandigarh audiences.

Hindustan Times Chandigarh Live, sunday, march 25, 2001