Rajasthani folk songs, contemporary instrumental music from Brazil, African slave chants and tunes from communities of Croatia will be among the major highlights at the annual Jodhpur Riff festival this year.
Scheduled to be held from October 13 to 17 at Jodhpur's Mehrangarh Fort, the festival will bring the rarest and best music of Rajasthan and from across the globe on a single platform.
"We aim to showcase Rajasthan's amazing music and musicianship. Presenting the artistes with respect and dignity is a central aspect of the ethos of the festival.
"While there is a lot that remains to be done in the villages of Rajasthan, we try to contribute to the general awareness of Rajasthani folk music, in order to positively impact the livelihood of some of the artists," says Divya Bhatia, festival director.
The five-day-long festival which has previously hosted Grammy awardees like Wouter Kellerman, this year will showcase performances by over a hundred Rajasthani artistes including stalwarts like - Lakha Khan Mangainyar and Kadar Khan Langa (Sindhi Sarangi and vocals), Pempa Khan Manganiyar (Shehnai and Murli) and Sawan Khan Manganiyar (Sufi).
Chiranji Lalji and Shamsuddin (Maand), vocalist Anwar Khan Manganiyar, master musicians of the Kamaycha Ghewar and Darra Khan Manganiyar will also be performing.
Jodhpur RIFF, a not-for-profit project, seeks to offer patronage and encouragement to the often neglected Rajasthani Folk music.
"Even though more and more people are now willing to pay to hear good traditional music, it is still not enough. Hence, there is a continued need for patronage for music that may be less in the pop mould," Bhatia says.
Among the major attractions will be a mix of Australian and Rajasthani music where Jeff Lang and Bobby Singh from Australia will collaborate with Bhungar Manganiyar to belt out Rajasthani compositions on "love and loss.
A special performance at the festival will see master
percussionists of Rajasthan collaborating with Ben Walsh, one of Australia's most accomplished percussionists.
Walsh will perform alongside a dozen Rajasthani percussionists - on the dholak, khartal, morchang and dhol to deliver a show a performance laden with rhythmic rancour and robust mayhem.
Sondorgo, a band from the interiors of Hungary will play lesser known, traditional tunes of the Serb-Croatian communities living along the Danube, coupled with gypsy and Balkan tracks from elsewhere.
"They play 17 instruments, and styles of music that are little known and quite different to the traditional Hungarian repertoire," Bhatia says.
French singer and songwriter Davy Sicard will be in concert where he will croon tunes of folk form 'Maloya,' an amalgamation of African slave chants and rhythms complemented by contemporary European instruments.
"The special ingredient in this case is Davy's beautiful voice which glides across the music like a scrumptious coating, pure sweet and expressive," Bhatia says.
Brazilian band Bixiga 70, popular for its unique mixes of African, Afrobeat, Brazilian, Latin and jazz music will also be performing at the event.
Talking about the future of folk musicians in the country, Bhatia says that it is imperative for the government to be "interested in redressing the needs of the folk artists in villages and rural hinterlands."
"Unless that happens, our folk music will remain niche and some of it will exist only in the little pockets," he says.
