Latest News
|
Backup Bands for Eastwind '08
2008-02-11
The Eastwind team invites bands to apply for back up slots for the festival. Scope
Financials
Contact
|
|
Detonation at Eastwind
2008-02-24
“It is a great place and we love Indian hospitality. We enjoyed the taxi ride and the Delhi traffic!” exclaimed Otto Schimmelpenninck of Detonation. He joined the band as bass player in August 1998. Detonation was one of the international bands who were here to perform at the Eastwind music festival. To experience such a musical extravaganza that too in Delhi was a surprise package for them. It is a Dutch death metal/thrash metal band, with members from the Netherlands and United States of America. In recent years the band has gravitated towards a melodic death metal sound. Detonation was founded in 1997 under the name Infernal Dream. The band started out with Koen Romeijn on vocals/guitar, Mike Ferguson on guitar, and Thomas Kalksma on drums. The band's name was changed to Detonation in 1998 and entered a studio for the first time to record two songs for the Crushed Skull Compilation Volume 1 CD. A month later, Detonation performed live for the first time. Their great towering personalities could not be missed at our music fiesta. They were clogged with media persons most of the time but managed to spend ample time at the NSIC grounds, enjoying the festival. About the concept of the whole event they said, it was great start. They are acquainted with similar festivals in the west but in India this is the beginning. Koen commented that perfection will come with time. For example, the placement of stages could have been done in a better way so the performance of one band might not hinder the other. They had a few hitches while coming to India but, all’s well that ends well. Their show did turn out to be one of the best, after all. ‘At the end the love for music is all that matters’. Riddhi Sharma Special Eastwind Correspondent Courtesy IIMC
|
|
Eastwind '08 Overview
2008-02-24
Musicians need an event like this to express their music which has been steadily sidelined by the lure of Bollywood music. This was the point stressed by Jayashree Singh, vocalist of the popular Kolkata based band, Pink Noise, while commenting on the Eastwind Nunusual Music Festival held in the capital from the 22nd to the 24th of February, 2008.
Organized by Prospect Advisory and Management, Eastwind gave a platform to musicians from India as well as across the world to perform original contemporary music across genres such as rock, jazz, fusion and world music.
Held over three days at the NSIC grounds, Eastwind saw over 60 bands, including the likes of Indian Ocean, Parikrama, Them Clones, Thermal and a Quarter and Pentagram, perform in front of a captivated audience. Divided amongst three stages- Rumble, RSJ and At Home Stage, bands performed simultaneously from 1pm to 10 pm. In addition to the three performance stages, there was an outdoor jam stage and a business centre displaying CDs, accessories, equipment and instruments. Three tattoo parlors added to the rock theme of the festival.
In India, the music scene has been limited to performances in pubs or small scale concerts in various parts of the country. Adhiraj Mustafi, Managing Director of Prospect A&M saw immense scope in the Indian music industry and felt that more and more artistes were presenting their original music in the country. “No big festival had been held in India to promote original contemporary music and we saw that this is what was required”, said Adhiraj. This led to the conception of the Eastwind Festival where musicians, music lovers and all industry related companies could come together under one roof and create a live music experience like never before.
Day one of Eastwind saw a slim crowd presence but some fantastic performances, including a magnificent opening performance by the legendary band, Indian Ocean. Expressing his opinion on the festival, percussionist Asheem Chakraborty of Indian Ocean said that Eastwind was an excellent opportunity for Indian bands to create an identity of their own. As the day went by, the crowd seemed to slowly pick up and so did the intensity of the performances with bands such as Mrigya, III Sovereign, Boomerang and Evergreen making the heavy metal audience rather happy. Nepalese Band, Baja Gaja and the Kolkata based Pink Noise provided a unique sound to the musical extravaganza. The East India Company from Assam, thoroughly engaged the audience with their electronic folk music. The day came to end with some memorable performances by the Midival Punditz and the Chennai band, Junkyard Groove.
The second day of Eastwind looked promising from the start with some splendid performances by Barefaced Liar, Five Little Indians, Little Babooshkas Grind and Dream Out Loud. The major crowd pullers were HFT and popular Delhi bands such as Half Step Down, Jalebee Cartel and Menwhopause. Simultaneous performances in the evening by Pentagram, the Bangalore band Thermal and a Quarter and the “eclectic” rock band Skinney Alley, left the audience pulling their hair out over which band to watch.
The final day of Eastwind 2008 began with a captivating performance by the Artistes Unlimited group, followed by the international band, Detonation, Bombay based Something Relevant and Medusa. The evening saw some energy-packed performances by Level 9, Advaita and Cyanide. Mohit Chauhan formerly of the now disbanded Silk Route, got the audience singing along to his popular tunes. But the band which stole the show was the Leni Stern group. With a variety of rhythms from Africa, Morocco as well as India, the group performed unique music and a sound which has never been heard before. The festival came to a close with performances by some big names like Them Clones, Motherjane and Parikrama. Already being dubbed as the “Indian Woodstock”, Eastwind is being seen as a breakthrough in the Indian rock music scenario and a gateway for future similar performances in the country.
Anasuya Kumar Special Eastwind Correspondent Courtesy IIMC |
|
Leni Stern at Eastwind
2008-02-24
“The language of music is the strongest thing and everyone can relate to it”, said singer- songwriter Leni Stern. During the Eastwind Nunusual Music Festival, held in the capital from the 22nd to the 24th of February, 2008, Leni and her internationally acclaimed band, with their unusual yet eclectic sound, was quite the crowd favourite.
Born in Munich, Germany, Leni started playing the piano at the age of six and guitar at eleven. At seventeen, she formed her own acting company and her radical productions sold out across Europe. In 1977, Stern turned her attention towards music and left for America to study film scoring at the Berkley College of Music in Boston. Film scoring gave way to her love for guitar and in 1981, Stern moved to New York to play in a variety of jazz and rock bands. Since then, there has been no looking back for this formidable woman who is a social advocate, a cancer survivor and above everything else, an uncompromising artist.
Embracing cultural exchange, Leni Stern integrates African and Western musical forms in her songs. She shared her journey to West Africa, which opened her eyes to a new musical world. She said that there were no words to describe her love for Africa and how welcome she had been.
Through her collaborations with Morocco’s Brahim Fribgane -a master of the oud and doumbek (goblet drum), Paul Tchounga from Cameroon on the drums and Mamadou Ba of Senegal on the bass guitar, Leni has been able to develop an evocative body of songs that combine her jazz-steeped singer-songwriter sound with traditional West African grooves and instruments.
Prominent kanjeera player, Selva Ganesh had only two days to rehearse with Leni Stern and her band for the Eastwind festival. But he enjoyed their music so much that he managed to pick it up in a day. Ganesh said that it was truly music played from the heart.
In her multi-ethnic band, Leni is definitely seen as the binding factor. But she believes that even though different nationalities and traditions may exist in her band, understanding is easy because at the end of the day, the language of music is universal. It is about ‘storytelling’.
Anasuya Kumar Special Eastwind Correspondent Courtesy IIMC |
