In this interview for LA's KPFK Radio's SWANA Radio Intifada on September 13, 2013, I share how tabla, its language, grammar and phrasing power Hindustani classical music. Specifically, we look at Abida Parveen and Maestro Ali Akbar Khan's recordings from the lens of tabla. The set closes out with a look at the cycle of Rupak, 7 beats, as featured on the PremaSoul track of the same name (featuring Sheela Bringi on Harp and Clinton Patterson on Rhodes Piano).

I thank all my tabla teachers past and present for helping me channel this knowledge: most important, my tabla Guru, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Tim Witter, Randy Gloss, and Debasish Chaudhuri, Sankar Prosad Chowdhury, and my dad Rajen Sukhadia Thank You!

The SWANA (South and West Asia and North Africa)Collective presents a weekly review of politics and culture featuring the voices of the voiceless from Kolkata to Casablanca.

Tablapusher on KPFK Radio Los Angeles (90.7 FM) - SWANA Regional Radio with Sejal Patel

The Phonosarangi, invented by Kitundu, is featured on this Intro to the FIELD album: Field Recordings Vol. 1.  The Phonosarangi has 3 main strings and 15 sympathetic strings. It is placed on the lap and bowed with the strings are fretted with the pads of the fingers. Easier to play than the incredibly sonorous and lovely Indian Sarangi after which it is inspired.  http://kitundu.com/#/phonosarangi/

Phonosarangi Intro - FIELD: Kitundu & Sukhadia

The Phonosarangi, invented by Kitundu, is featured on this Interlude Track on the FIELD album: Field Recordings Vol. 1. The Phonosarangi, invented by Kitundu, is featured on this Intro to the FIELD album: Field Recordings Vol. 1.  The Phonosarangi has 3 main strings and 15 sympathetic strings. It is placed on the lap and bowed with the strings are fretted with the pads of the fingers. Easier to play than the incredibly sonorous and lovely Indian Sarangi after which it is inspired.  http://kitundu.com/#/phonosarangi/

Phonosarangi Interlude - FIELD: Kitundu & Sukhadia

A live recording of the Phonosarangi, invented and performed by Walter Kitundu at the Roy O. Disney Hall at CalArts School of Music on 1/26/2006. The Phonosarangi has 3 main strings and 15 sympathetic strings. It is placed on the lap and bowed with the strings are fretted with the pads of the fingers. Easier to play than the incredibly sonorous and lovely Indian Sarangi after which it is inspired.  http://kitundu.com/#/phonosarangi/

Phonosarangi by FIELD - Live At CalArts 2006

SADUBAS (Ameet Mehta and Robin Sukhadia) - live at Artwallah LA 2017. The Sounds of Resistance in the New World Order featured a tapestry of audio samples from Bollywood films, Arundhati Roy, Malala Yousafzai, Mr. Robot, and more. recorded by Peter Madana on May 6, 2017.

What the Hell is Going On?

composed and produced by:
SADUBAS (Ameet Mehta & Robin Sukhadia) - Electronics

featuring: 
Rory Cowal - Piano
Greg Swiller - Upright Bass
Peter Madana - Mixing and Mastering

Video Shot and Edited by Robin Sukhadia

free audio download: 
https://sadubas.bandcamp.com/

more info: 
http://www.sadubas.com

Railways by Sadubas

This gorgeous track features Sheela Bringi performing harp with a classical north Indian approach in a cycle of 7 beats (Rupak). Clinton Patterson provides a lush drone and atmospherics from a Rhodes Piano. Recording in the CalArts Roy O Disney Hall in 2009 enabled us to capture tabla beautifully. Learn more about Premasoul at www.premasoul.com

Rupak by Premasoul & Tablapusher

Recorded in 2004, this track features Kitundu's Phonokora, an invented instrument that is inspired by west African kora, in the cycle of 10 beats, Jhaptaal. Engineering by Jesse Clarke.

Jhaptaal by FIELD (Kitundu & Tablapusher)

Trumpet by Clinton Patterson and Tabla by the Tablapusher in a cycle of 8. One take, recorded at the Roy O Disney Hall at the California Institute of the Arts. This track is featured on the album, A Shrine to All Things by www.premasoul.com

Curry, In My Collard Greens by Premasoul with Clinton Patterson

Imagine Queen Latifa, Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes stealing money from the Federal Reserve Bank. Now imagine tabla as the backbone of the score for scenes of them creeping around the bank's innards with piles of cash in their fists. The brilliant and talented Music Producer Michael Mason invited me to play tabla for the film score (composed by Martin Davich), and the rhythms were prominently featured on a number of the tracks for the film.

Mad Money Soundtrack by Michael Mason featuring Tablapusher

"Dreaming in Code", Leena Pendharkar's award winning documentary about life in a tech startup in San Francisco circa 2000, featured this opening song by SADUBAS (Tablapusher + Part Time Chiller). It was our first major breakthrough track composed entirely on an MPC2000. You can watch the documentary in its entirety at https://vimeo.com/7647978

Dreaming in Code

Early this week, I received this call from Sean Paul InstaLoan. It is the greatest voicemail I have ever received in my life.

Sean Paul of InstaLoan

In 2000, while living in San Francisco, I recorded baby Vicente (Vinni) Cruz Rivas speaking into my mpc2000 and made this anthem. He had been skateboarding earlier in the week, so the babble was in full effect. 

The Vinni Song

This beautiful composition is featured in the indie film hit, Farah Goes Bang. The film was named an Official Selection of the 2013 TriBeca Film Festival. I play tabla alongside beautiful kamancheh and sitar solos in this richly textured composition by the brilliant Alexis & Sam Music Productions (www.alexisandsammusic.com). Recorded in 2013 in Los Angeles.

Filmmaker Meera Menon received the inaugural Nora Ephron Prize at this year’s Festival for her feature debut, Farah Goes Bang. The film follows twenty-somethings Farah, K.J. and Roopa as they hit in road to campaign for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. Co-written and Produced by Laura Goode.

Farah Goes Bang - Looking for a Hero

A Master in Fine Arts graduate from the World Music program at the California Institute of the Arts, Robin Sukhadia has been studying tabla (classical north Indian drums) under Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri at the California Institute of the Arts and the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California for the past eleven years. His special focus on the musical traditions and rhythms of south Asia informs his approach to musical arrangement and composition on a wide range of concert, film, and album productions. For the past nine years, Robin has traveled internationally on behalf of Project Ahimsa, an organization committed to empowering impoverished youth through music education. He performs and teaches extensively, in both classical and contemporary contexts, and has developed innovative music education programs at the Mahatma Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, the Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Machine Project in Los Angeles and the Sangati Center in San Francisco. In 2010, Robin was awarded a Fulbright Senior Research Award to expand his work with music education in India.


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