Zeroclassikal - Raga / Gujari Todi

South Asian classical music

Indian classical music is considered to be ancient with complex rhythms and melodies, practiced for centuries in the Indian sub-continent.

So, what happens when a British born and trained musician picks up an Indian instrument?

zerOclassikal is a project giving British born and trained musicians the voice and platform to explore what their identity brings to the ‘ancient’ musical genre of south Asian classical music.

An initiaive by zeroculture in partnership with The Cockpit and Collage Arts, the zerOclassikal project aims to facilitate progressions, experiments and developments of the genre, featuring performances, ‘open to the public’ workshops culminating in presentations, as well features such as discussions and seminars.

In the intimate setting of the Cockpit, a deliberate setting as opposed to the larger concert hall environment, the project enforces a type of engagement between the musician and audience that is at the heart of south Asian classical music.

The launch of the project sees– Jonathan Mayer on sitar with Mitel Purohit on tabla re-set the raga Gujari Todi challenging stereotypes and common held views of the genre.

Son of the late Indian composer and Indo-Jazz Fusions founder John Mayer, Jonathan studied sitar from Clem Alford, Pandit Subroto Roy Chowdhury, both of Senia Gharana, and Ustad Wajahat Khan of Imdadkhani Gharana. He also studied composition from his father and later with Andrew Downes at the Birmingham Conservatoire where he gained a B.Mus (Hons).

The project will continue as a once a month series from September 2013.