Just looking at an image of the band SwarAsia is enough to give us goosebumps, thanks to the immense talent on display. Spearheaded by internationally acclaimed Malaysian sitarist Samuel J Dass, SwarAsia has made a name for themselves in the genre of Carnatic fusion music with a Malaysian flavour.
The best news has come upon us, SwarAsia is going on a concert tour across the country! Prepare yourselves for SwarAsia – Live 2020 Tour as they will be in Johor on the 7th of March, in Penang on the 14th of March and their finale concert will be in Kuala Lumpur on the 28th of March.
SwarAsia features Malaysia’s favourite carnatic violinist, Hariraam Tingyuan Lam, Cuban musician Marco Alonso on the guitar and vocals as well as guitar and bass player Eliezer Enan.
The latest Malaysian Tamil sensation, Santosh Logandran is also part of SwarAsia. The composer-singer who is guilty or redefining the genre will be on the percussions and vocals of SwarAsia.
Konnakol, the art of performing percussion syllables vocally in South Indian Carnatic music, or Indian scat singing, will be performed by Malaysian tabla maestro, Prakash Kandasamy.
We have a chat with Samuel J Dass on the band’s upcoming concert tour across the nation. “This is the first time we are launching a concert tour in three cities, and we are looking forward to it,” he says.
The band shares a remarkable respect for each other, Samuel tells us. “It is always a pleasure to work with people who I am comfortable with. I’ve worked with these guys before, we have done a few shows together and we just click,” he explains. “While some are from different bands and backgrounds, it is nice that we could all come together to share the joys of SwarAsia,”
The members of SwarAsia cut across various age groups and they may appeal to different crowds, but Samuel says that it is just a coincidence, “Ultimately, all of them are so talented. We are looking forward to putting up a good show for everyone,”
Samuel also tells us that the main reason he is doing this is for Swara Community Arts Centre (Swara CAC), a non governmental organisation in Petaling Jaya that conducts classes in the arts for all age groups. “The funds that we raise from this series of concerts will go towards the Swara CAC, to help run the centre so we can continue to impart knowledge of the arts to all who are willing to learn,”
“The funds that we raise from this series of concerts will go towards the Swara CAC, to help run the centre so we can continue to impart knowledge of the arts to all” – samuel j dass
As for the concert itself, Samuel says that this is a first for SwarAsia too. “We haven’t really done a tour across the country, so it’s our first time as well. We are kind of in the dark, but excited to give it our all,”
Samuel doesn’t want to reveal the feel of the concert yet, but he does promise that there will be a few surprises in store for the audience.
For tickets to SwarAsia’s concerts, scroll up to the poster and contact the numbers listed there. If you’re still not convinced, give them a listen on Spotify here.
Keep up with SwarAsia on Instagram here or on Facebook here.
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