Raga Labs (2017)
Raga Labs brings together the best musicians in world music genres to create unique collaborations that provide a platform for groups of artists to express and explore contemporary themes and relevant social trends. The Twin Cities Raga Labs happened in May 2017.
The World Music series of Raga Labs launched in the Twin Cities earlier this year, with this incredibly passionate group of musicians coming together to create and collaborate. Two songs of longing — for a love that could never be, for a time that never was. Two classic songs in Macedonian and Bengali meet in a lilting 7/8 meter. Ritika composed an overture from Lalon’s Baul poetry especially for this production. Check out the musician interviews at the end to learn about the creative process that went behind it.
The performers are:
Sarah Larsson (Balkan Vocals, Percussion)
Katherine Parent (Vocals)
Julian Manzara (Jazz Guitar)
Liz Draper (Upright Bass)
Marcus Wise (Classical Hindustani Tabla)
Ritika Ganguly (Bengali Vocals)
Steven Hobert (Piano, Accordion)
Raga Labs are city-based collaborations that bring together the best musicians and dancers to collaborate on high quality music videos viewed by millions of people globally. The genres we work with are rooted in Indian classical performing arts and include Carnatic music (South Indian classical music), Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), semi-classical music, contemporary and fusion music, Indian classical dances including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathak, and also ballet, tap, contemporary dance. Our productions also include a wide range of instruments including mridangam, tabla, sitar, violin, flute/bansuri, veena, ghatam, and new-age categories like music arrangement and production with EDM, Trap, Pop amongst others. Our most popular innovations include classical cover songs, a cappella, mashups and remixes of the latest viral pop hits in both western and Indian music. Anyone can apply to join our collaborations, and you can visit indianraga.com/labs for more details and application process.