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From Colombia to South India with Indian Man’s Cumbia de Konnokal

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Hailing from Punjab is Bristol based DJ and producer Indian Man. Tiffany Ip chatted to him about his new single, Cumbia De Konnokal, which blends the sounds of Colombian cumbia with South Indian konnokal and jazz influences.

Indian Man’s style bending music is not only a reflection of his overall independent spirit but also of his desire to re-shape our engagement with traditional sounds, restoring our relationship with culture and tradition which is in danger of being lost as times are changing. He welcomes the fact that our sense of tradition gets diluted generation by generation, but also emphasizes the need to stay in touch with our cultural roots.

 

Indian Man explains that growing up as a 3rd generation British born Punjabi comes with expectations, rules and traditions. Deciding to learn the guitar aged 12, he was influenced by the music of traditional jazz players like Django Reinhardt and Billie Holiday. However, he also kept in touch with his traditional musical roots by playing and touring in a bhangra band (a style of music and dance associated with the Punjabi region) called RSVP. He then went onto study Jazz and developed a passion for electronic music, and eventually launched himself as a garage DJ, showing his appreciation for a wide range of musical genres. These diverse musical ventures informed his own work: diving into his mixes, you will find a tapestry of various styles such as Jazz, hip hop, dub and Bhangra. He prefers not to label his own mixes and plays whatever feels good to him, expressing his desire to represent freedom of identity and expression of culture through music.

Cumbia De Konnokal, his newly released single, is a brilliant fusion of Cumbia and Indian folk music accompanied by jazz elements and a light electronic beat. While playing as a resident DJ in the 2018 WOMAD festival in Chile, he was inspired by the records he heard from across South America, leading him to sample a Konnakol piece and mix it with Cumbia music. “Konnakol” is the language of drumming in South Indian classical music, where spoken syllables articulate the sound of a drum. His new single Cumbia De Konnakol is a multi-layered piece which honours the blending of two such different genres. The song’s steady, rhythmic Cumbia beat, paired with smooth Jazz components and the sound of the Indian folk percussions of tabla and dholak pulsing throughout, evokes a vibrant tropical jungle beat. It features singers Anna Murtola, Jeevan Singh Chauhan and Elly Hopkins (Spanish, Punjabi and English respectively) and the expressive sound of Konnakol can be heard in the background, weaving together a very complementary mix of traditional Indian and Colombian music with a fresh twist. The music video is crafted together by three visual artists (Amie Nowlan, Mercedes Polo Portillo and Camilla Cacciari) all based in Bristol, animating the familiar sights around Stokes Croft. Check out the song and video below!

You can catch Indian Man in the upcoming WOMAD festival in Gran Canaria on November 15th.

Photo credits: Soundcloud, Indian Man