I had the concert of a lifetime last night. How better can I describe it, when a two-month long hard work has a fitting culmination with the God of music blessing me! Firstly, I put forth my heartiest thanks to all those who were present there to encourage me and also those who were with me in spirits. This post is for those who missed out on the concert and are dying to get that inside story about the most happening musical evenings in the recent times. The enormity of the dais with dignitaries who are stalwarts of music and a packed audience of music lovers set the perfect occasion for us musicians. We are truly fortunate and can never ask for more.

Of all these years that I have performed in concerts, one thing against which I’ve stood strong is stage-fear or so to say, the nervousness to perform the best for the audience. The auditorium was fully packed with fans or should I say fanatics of Ilayaraja sir’s music. I stood confident to give my best for the show. However, when the maestro walked in with his magical aura and set eye contact with me (for the first time in my lifetime), I must admit some fear did show up within me. With thousands of prayers, I began playing, the first piece itself being one of the complex compositions in the album. Once I finished, I sought his approval and he gestured a thumbs up sign! Gosh! Only one thing came to my mind…. I think most of you would have read about the story of Narayaneeyam. After each verse was composed by the saint Narayana Bhattathri, Lord Krishna appeared before him and nodded his head to give his approval. I found this most appropriate to what happened to me. Further to that, confidence exuded within me in full force and I performed the rest of the pieces effortlessly. During the concert, I found Ilayaraja sir explaining the complexity behind each piece to composer Uttam Singh. The maestro never failed to approve each one of them with a thumbs up!  What more can I ask for as a musician?

With the genius

Once the show came to a close, he came up on stage to bless us all. The first thing I did (the first thing every lover of his music would do) was to fall at his feet…. He literally gave me a pat on the back, happiness being evident on his face and told me “I know how complex these compositions are… but you rendered each one of them flawlessly… God bless you.” BLISS…. When he gave his speech, he also mentioned that he was happy to see that I changed only very few flutes for all the pieces, despite their complexity.

The evening was indeed magical for me and one of the biggest milestones in my career.  Credits should be given where its due…. My foremost thanks goes to Ms. Bhavatharini who gave me this incredible opportunity… I should also thank the 22 piece strings section, each one of them being pillars of support for the music. My heartiest thanks to Prabhakaran sir for his amazing conduction. A big thanks to my buddies Navneeth Sundar, Aalaap Raju, Leon, Geo Raj and Donnan Murray for their support. And last but by no means least, to all you music lovers out there, who went far and wide to be a part of the evening.

Nothing But Wind Live - Live performance of Maestro Ilayaraja's album

The past month kept me extremely busy. I was doing the notes for the pieces in the album. Though it was complex, I must admit, the complexity encloses beauty. I have always been proud of my birth having fallen during a period where I am able to appreciate, enjoy and learn from both the maestro’s and the Madras mozart’s music. Preparation for this show has helped me explore and live with the depth of musical knowledge of Ilayaraja sir and my respect for him has increased multi-fold.

This show is being organized by Ilayaraja sir’s daughter Ms. Bhavatharini and she is doing this in order to celebrate her daddy dearest’s birthday which is on June 2.  I will be performing with my friends, awesome artists, Navneeth Sundar on keyboard, Aalaap Raju on bass guitar, Donnan Murray on guitar, Leon on keyboard, Geo Raj on drums and a 32 piece string section; The icing of the cake being that the maestro himself is going to inaugurate the show. The show is to be presided over by Director Bharathiraja, composer Uttam Singh and lyricist Vaali.

Its an amazing feeling… and Im falling short of words…. Guys… please join me to share my happiness… This is happening on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at Music Academy at 7 PM. Tickets are available at Landmark.

My trip to Melbourne in November 2009, was my second time at Kangaroo land!  Being a part of the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) was indeed an honour.  Our classical music forms when presented in a contemporary format, is well received by audiences there.  As mentioned in one of my previous posts, playing with EarthSync is like being in one’s homeland and playing with one’s family.  However, the most novel experience was to witness how music was being interpreted by people in other parts of the world. I must admit, it was indeed enriching!

Unfortunately, the pictures taken during the show were shot at a long angle and didn’t actually come out well.

The AWME is a prestigious, unique show which brings together scores of indigenous, world, roots and folk music labels together.  It served the right mix of networking and grooving!

Apart from the show the entire team was interviewed by a local radio station. We performed live too! These are some pictures shot at the radio station:

With EarthSync crew

Thumbs up!

This is audio sample of the tracks that were aired from the album Business Class Refugees:

Shiva sheva played at Pbs radio

Boye Boye played at PBS Radio

My next post would be on my trip to the US and Israel.

This Sunday, my friend @mad_nad has organized a tweet-up around me.  They have requested me to perform some pieces, on the flute, at my studio.  I am sure its going to a be pleasurable experience for me; unique, in terms of getting the chance to play in front of a friendly crowd, without being conscious about microphones and the likes.  These tweeps have evinced massive interest in being a part of the tweet-up. Most importantly, they are being kind enough in taking the space constraint in their stride.

I personally extend my invite to all you Chennai tweeps out there.

Guys, I am really looking forward to meeting with all of you and hope you will enjoy my tunes!

Intended to be a platform for children, teachers and parents to interact and inspire one another, the festival this time, took on the theme of ‘Girls are Superstars’. I happened to be a part of the inaugural concert – “Kannamma”.

Anil Srinivasan, Chennai based pianist, whom i look up to as my brother, brought the gang (myself, Vedanth Bharadwaj, Rakesh Raghunathan & Gurucharan) together, along with percussionist Jonathan Singer for an eclectic musical evening, featuring songs composed by poet Bharathiyar.

The virtuosity of the legendary poet, displayed in each one of his works, especially the ones on the empowerment of the girl child, was the major source of inspiration for us. Simple diction laden with persuasive messages – We put in the best of our efforts to match our music to this pattern the poet followed.

In keeping with the theme of the day, we chose popular compositions such as Ninnai Charan adaindhen, Chinnan Chiru Kiliye, Agni Kunju, Kaatu Veliyidai, Paayum Oli and Suttum Vizhi. Of these, I played the flute for Ninnai Charan, Agni Kunju and a solo on rag Panthuvarali.

The highlights of the concert however were the participation by young girls from Vidyodaya School (Chennai) in singing out the songs and also giving life to the evening, with dance performances. Even during the time of rehearsals, I couldn’t help but relive my childhood days through all the expressions, chatter and frivolity (doesn’t that make it art, arattai and aarpattam!) of those kids. Amidst tight schedules, working on this concert, actually provided as a stress-buster of sorts.

Vedanth’s vocal recital of a couple of Meera bhajans, Anil’s flawless rendition of melodies on the piano and Rakesh’s melifluous voice were held in high regard by the audience. And of course, the appreciation that came by my way, added to my strengths and humbled me as always.

The evening was indeed a wholesome treat for the child in me.

Kartick & Gotam Team: vocalist Mahesh Vinayakram, Israeli music producer and designer Yotam Agam, flautist Navin Iyer, percussionist K.V Balakrishnan, dancer Meera Seshadri, Israeli music composer Patrick Sebag and vocalist Anuradha Viswanathan

album is Laya Project – wherein the team from EarthSync toured countries that were affected by the Asian Tsunami and brought out music from lesser known lands and presented that in a contemporary format.  This is to say, one gets to listen to music from Myanmar & Thailand shaking hands with South Indian Thappatam & Odiyattam. Laya Project is a collaboration of cultures across lands and it celebrates the resilience of the human spirit

It will certainly be a surprise for many, to come across something as off-beat as a world-music label in Chennai. Navin’s association with the label dates back to more than a year.  He has contributed majorly to the live shows of Laya Project such as in the Perth International Arts Festival etc.  Navin’s melifluous flute can also be heard in the other projects of EarthSync such as Nagore Sessions and the Voice Over the Bridge.

Over the last two months, Navin has been touring cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad along with other artistes from EarthSync for the live shows of the album, Business Class Refugees, the first album of Kartick & Gotam (Yotam Agam and Patrick Sebag of EarthSync).  The album is an electro folk remix of all of EarthSync’s folk productions.  An attempt to create an alternative and unusual electronic theme for the new album.  You can read more about the album in: Kartick & Gotam\’s – Business Class Refugees, for there’s a very interesting story behind the genesis of this album. You can also listen to some of the tracks of the album from that page.

Also check out a trailer of the live show and a video from Business Class Refugees Live during the EarthSync Festival 2009:

Kartick & Gotam\’s Business Class Refugees Live Trailer

Business Class Refugees video – Navin Iyer

While the trailer gives a sweeping preview to what the album is all about, the video highlights the brilliance of Navin’s music and EarthSync’s uniqueness in blending music from all parts of the world.

“Working with the EarthSync team is a liberating experience.  Be it Laya Project or the latest Business Class Refugees, it has brought out the best in me.  With artistes like Vocalist Mahesh Vinayakram, Violinist Padma Shankar, percussionist K.V Balakrishnan and very passionate Yotam, Patrick and Eyal from Israel, by the side, it is more like holidaying with the family and doing some beautiful music at the end of the day.  I always look forward to these live shows with EarthSync as this is one collaborations that has given me the ticket to music at an international level.  I am actually looking forward to discovering more such labels and artistes to work with.”

“The experience was quite interesting.  I had the opportunity to show Divya, my studio and my collection of flutes.  The best part however was that, the whole session seemed just like a chat with a friend.  The photo shoot at the rocks was indeed very exciting. I feel humbled to have been profiled by such an esteemed publication and in a column which has previously had articles on people like Thota Tharani, Rajeev Menon and the like.”

“Today also marks the launch of my official website, www.naviniyer.com.  Work is still being done on the videos, images and exclusive downloads for the media page, which will be up and running very soon. Do bear with me for that and i promise it will be worth the wait.”

Do drop in your feedback and comments.

Some of NI’s recent film songs include

1. Dreams on Fire – Slumdog Millionaire
2. Rehna Tu – Delhi 6
3. Luka Chuppi – Rang De Basanti
4. Urugude – Veyyil
5. Lesa parakudhu – Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu