Relive Indian Carnatic music pioneer Kadri Gopalnath's mesmerizing performance at LGW18

Recordings

On the closing night of Le Guess Who? 2018, Indian Carnatic music pioneer Kadri Gopalnath gave a mesmerizing performance, curated by Shabaka Hutchings. Listen to the full show, and watch and excerpt from the performance below.

About:

Kadri Gopalnath’s life’s work is to incorporate the woodwind instrument into the classic South Indian Carnatic music. To do so, the 69-year-old saxophone maestro single-handedly modified his alto sax and developed inventive playing techniques, recreating the microtones and vocal-like arrangements of orthodox Indian music. It took Gopalnath over twenty years to successfully integrate his instrument into Carnatic music, but the results are stunning; an ecstatic and majestic sound combining the best of both worlds.

Read our in-depth ‘Tracing the Roots’ feature about Kadri Gopalnath: "A lifetime of pioneering Indian Carnatic music".

"Le Guess Who? has always excelled at looking far afield and elevating traditional forms of music. Kadri Gopalnath is a saxophone maestro and pioneer who’s spent the best part of 20 years trying to integrate his instrument into traditional Indian Carnatic music; a reverential Sunday slot in the Grote Zaal is a fitting setting for one of his rare European performances. Sitting cross-legged, he and his band conjure hypnotic rhythms and joyful melodies, a riot of colour and feeling" - Drowned in Sound

Recorded on Sunday, 11 November, at TivoliVredenburg's Grote Zaal. Listen + watch more Le Guess Who? recordings via our archive.

Video produced by Nick Helderman.
Audio recorded and mixed by Marc Broer.
Video edit by Nick Helderman.
Camera operators: Wim Adam, Milan van Dril, Roy Jamhouri, Tim van Voort.
Photography by Juri Hiensch.