The fiery dhol player and frontman SUNNY JAIN brings together his friends and fellow musical travelers for a night of contemporary South Asian sounds. “Mela” is a Sanskrit word meaning “a gathering” or “festival”–a festive, communal vibe will prevail.
Jain’s Brooklyn-based band RED BARAAT “plays rollicking funk music steeped in Northern India’s wedding celebrations, with a dash of D.C. go-go beats and hip-hop,” (NPR), merging hard driving North Indian Bhangra with other equally danceable musical traditions.
KARSH KALE, a pioneering producer and musician who fearlessly explores the worlds of electronica, Indian classical music, rock, jazz fusion, and hip hop, returns the Bandshell for the first time since performing his remarkable original live score to Enter the Dragon, a BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! commission.
DJ REKHA, a producer, curator, musician, and activist, has been at the center of South Asian music and culture in NYC for two decades: her Basement Bhangra party is about to celebrate its 20th year of existence. One of Rekha’s two DJ sets will include AJNA DANCE, an NYC-based company specializing in both contemporary and classical Indian forms.
HEEMS, an MC from Queens, first came to prominence with the underground hip-hop group Das Racist; he has since released several mix tapes as a solo artist on his own label, Greedhead Music.
BHI BHIMAN is a San Francisco based singer-songwriter of Sri Lankan heritage (he is named after a character in the Mahabharata). His most recent record is last year’s Rhythm and Reason (Boocoo Music / Thirty Tigers).
FALU, born in Bombay and now a New Yorker, was trained rigorously in the Jaipur musical tradition and in the Benares style of Thumrie. Now she “mixes Hindustani classical–a fusion of Arabic and South Indian music–with pop and Oriental styles.” (NY Times)
DJ Rekha’s Basement Bhangra afterparty at The Bell House: 11:00PM.