On a Monday evening at Bharata Kalakshetra Auditorium, the beats from the traditional Koream drum, janggu, set the mood for what was to follow. A concert series titled Same Same But Different, conceived and produced by the Korean music group, Noreum Machi since 2013, to introduce its international collaborations with artistes across the world, was underway.
In this edition, which premièred in Chennai, they worked in tandem with renowned contemporary dancer and choreographer Astad Deboo, and Trayam, an ensemble of three Indian musicians, featuring percussionist BC Manjunath, singer and flautist Varijashree Venugopal and percussionist and composer, Praveen D Rao.
The concert began with the percussionist-trio of Noreum Machi, playing the traditional drum, janggu (shaped like an hourglass), which is emblematic of Korean music. Led by Ju Hong Kim, artistic director of Noerum Machi, the percussionists impressed the audiences with their dynamic beats.
Trayam, then presented a musical performance — a battle of rhythm and melody, dominated by konnakol by Manjunath and Carnatic vocals by Varijashree.
Speaking of the collaboration, Praveen said, “We understood what is different, and what is similar between Indian and Korean music. The two traditions are like two banks of a river, that never meet, but this musical experiment has made even that possible. Blending the rhythm of the tabla with the ritualistic musical instrument piri (a double-reed musical instrument, a type of cylindrical oboe) was the greatest challenge,” Praveen said.
Seventy two-year-old Astad Deboo made a poetic entry, when Trayam was performing. His introspective, minimalistic choreography for the rendition of ‘Om Purnamadah Purnamidam’ rendered a trance-like quality. The concert was divided into eight segments. The most anticipated moment was when the entire team of Korean and Indian musicians joined Deboo on stage. A seamless marriage of kayagum and flute, culminated the evening on a high note.