Kalpana Patowary is a prolific vocalist, based
in Mumbai. She has performed and recorded
with some of the biggest names in India and on the International arena. In 2009, Kalpana
Patowary got introduced to world renowned percussionist Trilok Gurtu and
together they collaborated for a Neo jazz folk fusion project “Massicle”
released from BirdJam Label Germany and later Times Music India. Kalpana
also performed live with Trilok Gurtu as the main vocalist and the band
performed in Blue Frog, Bacardi Nh7 Weekender in Pune and Bandra music
festival. Kalpana’s experimentation with various folk forms, led to
the release of a world music album, titled “The
Sacred Scriptures of Monikut” about the reformer,
wandering philosopher, saint and poet, Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardeva and
Madhavdeva.The album features collaborations with Trilok Gurtu again,
Guru Rewben Mashangva – the father of Naga folk blues, and PAPON Angarag Mahanta, the lead singer and founder of
the folk-fusion band called Papon and The East India Company.
On the 3rd edition
of Mtv@CokeStudio, she performed with Papon
for the Rajasthani fusion track “Baisara Beera”.
Presently Kalpana is seen with Dhruv Ghanekar, the co-founder of the path breaking
Blue Frog - a State of the Art Live Performance venue, most sought after composer, producer
and highly respected Guitar player based in Mumbai who balances his time
scoring music and performing his funky brand of Jazz and Indian sound.
Dhruv Ghanekar collaborated with Kalpana for the song “Baare
Baare” on his album Voyage, weaving a rich tapestry of Assamese folk and
traditional grooves combining with tunes of Maghreb region of North Africa. 'Voyage' is a musical sojourn of
various international cultures as seen and heard through Dhruv’s Indian lens. In 2015, Kalpana Patowary produced a
Bhojpuri musical document “Anthology of Birha” a folk form of the Ahirs of
Uttar Pradesh. They together collaborated on a track Khadi Birha from the album
‘Anthology of Biraha ‘in the 4th season
of Mtv@CokeStudio with folk tunes of the Ahirs of Uttar Pradesh merged with African music.
Kalpana Patowary is one of the few stalwarts who have
popularized Bhojpuri folk music combining with contemporary style. The growth
of the Bhojpuri Indie music genre can be attributed to a few determined artists
like Kalpana Patowary who takes Bhojpuri music to the class. Kalpana's work on this season of Mtv@CokeStudio has
been critically lauded and videos of his tracks have received thousands of
views on YouTube within a week.
Now they form a band
“DhruvVoyage” where Kalpana Patowary is on vocals, Gino Banks on Drums, Sheldon
in Bass Guitars, Arthur Gregorian on sexaphones and Ramon
Ibrahim on Keyboards
and Dhruv Ghanekar on guitar. The six members came from backgrounds varying
from folk to jazz and blues to Indian sound.
As
promotional activity, this band has performed in True school of Music Mumbai.
The band has also performed at the October fest Bacardi Nh7 Weekender - the
happiest music festival in Kolkata, Bangalore and Pune. They performed for the
first anniversary of Blue Frog Bangalore this 17th June 2016 and will be performing live
on 24th June 2016 in
Blue Frog Mumbai with featured guest Carl
Clements,Saxophonist and Flautist from America.
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