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- Big Ears and an Urban Loft: Where Traditions Meet City Rhythm
- V. Selvaganesh: Global Collaborator, Film Composer, Percussion Innovator
- Rhythmic Stories: From Father’s Composition to Live Improvisation
- Visual Homage: A Nod to Zakir Hussain and Membranophone Lineage
- “Kanjourney”: A Playful Title, a Deep Tradition
- Session Highlights and Must-See Moments
- People and Organizations Behind the Recording
Paste Studio’s roaming session arrived in Knoxville for Big Ears Festival, capturing an intimate set inside Tombras’ downtown loft. The city’s artsy energy and the festival’s adventurous programming set a vivid stage for one of South India’s most inventive percussion voices, V. Selvaganesh.
Big Ears and an Urban Loft: Where Traditions Meet City Rhythm
Big Ears has long championed boundary-pushing music. For this Paste Studio recording, Tombras Headquarters provided a sleek, industrial backdrop. The setting felt like an urban living room built for sound experiments and cross-cultural dialog.
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The pairing of festival daring and a cozy loft made the performance feel immediate and personal. Viewers could sense both concert energy and studio intimacy in equal measure.
V. Selvaganesh: Global Collaborator, Film Composer, Percussion Innovator
Selvaganesh is known worldwide for his work with Remember Shakti and guitarist John McLaughlin. He also shares a GRAMMY for Best Global Music Album with Shakti’s This Moment.
Beyond concert stages, Selvaganesh composes for Tamil cinema. His soundtrack credits include the film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, showcasing his range across concert and film forms.
Rhythmic Stories: From Father’s Composition to Live Improvisation
Opening with a Family Piece
The set began with a composition penned by Selvaganesh’s father, offering an immediate link between generations. The piece highlighted the kanjira’s crisp tones and an exchange between hand and drum that felt conversational.
Counting, Math, and the Pulse of South Indian Percussion
Selvaganesh explained how numerical patterns shape these rhythms. He used a tune titled “7 and a Half” to show how complex time signatures map to musical phrases.
Listeners witnessed a transition from structured motif to spontaneous vocal percussion, known as konnakol. This technique lets players vocalize rhythmic syllables before translating them to the instrument.
- Konnakol: Vocal percussion that mirrors drum phrasing.
- Kanjira: A small frame drum central to the performance.
- Rhythmic math: Time signatures and subdivisions guide improvisation.
Visual Homage: A Nod to Zakir Hussain and Membranophone Lineage
In the background, a photography book by Michael Weintrob was displayed open to a portrait of tabla master Zakir Hussain. The subtle placement was more than décor.
It signaled reverence for a shared lineage of Indian membranophone players. Selvaganesh’s admiration for Hussain connects him to a wider family of rhythm makers and teachers.
“Kanjourney”: A Playful Title, a Deep Tradition
The closing piece blended the words kanjira and journey into “Kanjourney.” The performance carried warmth and pride, as if the duo were tracing a family story through rhythm.
There was clear joy in transmission — between father and son, teacher and tradition, past and present.
Session Highlights and Must-See Moments
- Opening composition by Selvaganesh’s father — immediate familial resonance.
- “7 and a Half” — an accessible demonstration of rhythmic mathematics.
- Konnakol improvisations — vocal scatting transformed into percussion language.
- Visual tribute to Zakir Hussain — a nod to shared musical roots.
- Final “Kanjourney” — celebratory, skillful, and intimate.
People and Organizations Behind the Recording
Local production and festival staff helped shape the session’s look and feel. The collaboration between Paste Studio, Big Ears Festival, and Tombras made the video possible.
Technical details, camera positioning, and the loft’s acoustics all contributed to the warm, present sound captured on film. Fans can expect more Paste Sessions that follow this model of place-based musical storytelling.
