“We believe that music entrepreneurship holds the promise of
fostering creative economy, engaging youth in development and achieving global
peace by connecting communities,” says a proud Amitava Bhattacharya. Founder of
Banglanatak dot com. He has recently begun the Goa chapter of his work, a large
chunk of which involves a strong focus on Goan musicians.
And of course, no Goan line-up is complete without the ever
present musical ‘time-keeper’, Carlos Gonsalves and the Lord of the Strings,
Elvis Lobo. Playing alongside folk musicians of Bengal, this nationally
integrated music project has wowed discerning audiences across the state and
other parts of the country as well.
Banglanatak dot com has gone on to develop an undeniably
deep bond through their musical collaboration between Goan and Bengali folk
musicians. The first showcasing of this unique project saw its curtains being
raised at Zoya in Benaulim on September 21, 2014. This line-up was made up of a
total of seven members; three from Goa (Elvis Lobo, Carlos Gonsalves and Steve
Francis) and four from Bengal (Debalina Bhowmick, Golam Fakir, Sanatan Das and
Mohan Tati). The maestros will now travel to Delhi to present this new sound to
the capital on October 8. This live performance will also be recorded, with the
CD being pitched to global world music festival organising committees. This
music CD will also be presented at WOMEX, which is the world’s largest music
expo that is to be held at Santiago De Compestella in Spain from October 22 to
26, 2014.
“It started off as a one-time thing which led to a project
much bigger than anyone could have anticipated. To truly capture the live folk
feel, I will be using very earthy instruments such as the djembe, rain-sticks
and the ballaphone. In keeping with this theme, Elvis too will play an acoustic
guitar,” says an exuberant Carlos.
Speaking on some of the future plans for this musical
collaboration, Amitava adds, “We will try to enter the market of world music in
Europe in the summer of 2015, so that this seven-member team can spread the
wonderful folk acoustic sound across the world music scene. In December 2014,
Jim Laquidara, a music producer from Florida, will be visiting Kolkata in order
to explore creative opportunities with this sound. We aim at putting together
at least another five collaborations involving Goan musicians in the 2014-15
timeframe, all with a focus on folk acoustic music, thus creating more
opportunities for Goan youth.”
The talented group is also set to perform in Dhaka by the
end of 2014; taking two styles of folk music further than either one could
possibly have hoped to go alone. Perhaps in musical union, there indeed is
strength.
