Local tabla maestro Lalit Kumar Ganesh, 36, is set to present another concert this Sunday (Sept 21) at the Esplanade Recital Studio.
Entitled FLOW, the concert blends traditional tabla beats with both the Indian flute and vocal, as well as with the bass, piano and mandolin. The show will also feature a Kathak dance item.
Describing the conceptualisation of his programme as a “slow-burn revelation”, Lalit has been one to place storytelling at the centre of his repertoire.
“When I looked at this subject of Flow, I didn’t look at it as, ‘Okay, I will now use Indian classical music or that I will use jazz to blend with Indian classical music’,” he explained.
“The creative process just brought all of these things spontaneously together to narrate the story better.”
Lalit’s journey began at the age of 10 at the Temple of Fine Arts, an experience that laid the bedrock for his future.
Initially a student of Carnatic vocal, he focused more on playing the tabla, under the tutelage of Nawaz Mirajkar.
After completing an undergraduate course in environmental engineering in 2015 at Nanyang Technological University, Lalit worked as an analyst for a renewable energy project developer before making the leap towards full-time music.
He then joined Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, 2019 to pursue a one-year masters programme in contemporary performance and production.
“I entered the college knowing how to play only one instrument, but graduated with the skills of a music producer and a deeper mastery of my tabla playing,” Lalit said.
Having travelled extensively and collaborated with musicians from various cultures, Lalit eventually amassed a rich tapestry of influences.
The upcoming show features a pianist from Kuala Lumpur, a mandolin artiste from Melbourne, a Hindustani classical singer, a bass player, and a flautist.
The performance, he says, will contain a blend of Indian classical music with elements of Latin jazz, flamenco, and even punk.
Lalit himself will not only be on the tabla but will also play a world percussion kit, incorporating instruments like the conga, cajon, and djembe.
Transcending the typical boundaries of an Indian classical music concert by incorporating a broader stylistic approach, the show also reflects Lalit’s own global outlook.
With around eight original compositions, FLOW will be a 70- to 75-minute programme which moves seamlessly between genres, emotions, and cultures.
Lalit believes that his willingness to embrace diverse roles – from educator to programmer – has shaped his unique artistic voice.
Creativity, he says, stems not just from the art form itself, but from the questions that occupy one’s mind and from influences from within the artistic community.
“There’s something for everyone in this concert because it talks about pain, it talks about love, it talks about nostalgia... it talks about where it all began.”
As Lalit prepares to take the stage, he invites us to join him on this musical river – to embrace the ebb and flow and to find our own current within the ever-changing stream of life.
The show also accepts the SG Cultural Pass, offering a way for music lovers to experience this unique performance with subsidy.
