The Three Seas @ Murrah Hall, 2989 Tathra-Bermagui Rd, Murrah Sunday 11th November – Late Arvo Tickets (on the door): $15 - $25 Information/Booking: thethreeseasmusic.com Australian/Indian music ensemble The Three Seas is setting sail for a seven-date tour of Australia and that will see the band heading south for a performance at Murrah Hall on Sunday 11th November. Artistic Director and saxophonist, Matt Keegan, is looking forward to touring the jazz-folk-fusion band to Murrah Hall which has gained a favourable reputation amongst travelling artists as an atmospheric venue with an appreciative arts-minded community. “Two of the Indian band members are from remote communities in West Bengal. When we travel to India we always include local shows in the spectacular countryside of Santi Niketan and Darjeeling –these are always the most rewarding of the tour. I’m thrilled I can offer the boys the same experience here amongst the forests and beaches of the NSW South Coast and play in such a great venue with legendary curry!”. Fusing modern Australian jazz with West Bengal folk music, the band creates a unique and soulful sonic imprint that radiates joy. While Indian classical music and jazz have enjoyed a long association,The Three Seas music draws on the earthier sounds of folk music. “Our sound is a combination of ancient folk music from the Baul tradition, together with jazz and rock – mixed with western production aesthetics. Our Indian band members play a plethora of instruments and create what is essentially a small orchestra including the khamak (stringed percussion), the dubki (hand drum), stringed instruments the dotora and esraj, as well as the Nepalese mouth instrument, the murchunga”.
Inter-cultural music ensemble The Three Seas is setting sail for a 14-date tour of Australia and India to tour new work written by the groups Artistic Director and saxophonist Matt Keegan. The Three Seas has been a ten-year “labour of love” for Keegan who is thrilled to have finally realised his vision to tour the group in India. “I am delighted at the level of interest The Three Seas has attracted both there and abroad. It’s a very personal project that has been many years in the making, so to receive recognition for the project from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australia Council and the Australian High Commission in is very rewarding as an artist”. Recently returned from a two-week residency in the Blue Mountains, Keegan was one of nine composers to receive the 2018 APRA Art Music Fund. He has used the opportunity to compose a new suite for the ensemble which features three new pieces; one will feature the bowed string instrument, the esraj, and two will feature traditional Baul folk instruments, the khamak (stringed percussion) and dubki (hand drum). The suite will premiere for the opening night of the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues before touring to Adelaide for the OzAsia Festival and then onto Sydney, Canberra, Murrah and Cairns. The Indian performances will coincide with the annual 6-month celebration of Australian culture in India, Australia Fest. The tour will commence on December 15 with a performance in Fort Kochi for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, one of Asia’s biggest contemporary arts festivals. The Three Seas will then undertake a national tour with performances scheduled for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and concludes in the West Bengal region of Darjeeling. While in India, The Three Seas will release their latest recording “Fathers, Sons & Brothers” which showcases the bands wide-reaching appeal. “Our sound is a combination of traditional Baul music, originally performed by the mystics from West Bengal and Bangledesh, together with jazz, rock and western production aesthetics. "While we acknowledge our distinct and diverse origins, as a band it’s very simply about a shared passion for creating songs that radiate joy and resonate universally”. Keegan believes the new album captures a more authentic, acoustic and honest sounding band; “traditional Baul, Carnatic and Nepalese folk songs have been exquisitely arranged by the group and feature the vocal talents of Raju Das Baul and Deoashis Mothey. "The original compositions by myself, Gaurab and Deoashis make up the remaining pieces on the album. Recorded during our previous Australian tour in 2017, the album also features leading Sydney jazz artists; Steve Elphick, Carl Dewhurst, James Greening and Ben Hauptmann”. "The album follows the ensembles critically acclaimed debut release Haveli (2014), which was praised by John Shand of the Sydney Morning Herald for its “entirely original modernity”. The album, which was made possible through Keegan’s 2011 Freedman Jazz Fellowship, was recorded in a 100-year old Maharaja mansion in the Rajasthani desert." Leading a cross-cultural international project does not come without its challenges however, Keegan feels confident the foundations he has laid and experience gained from past tours will hold him in good stead. “Travelling to India is always an adventure. What continues to inspire me is that The Three Seas takes me out of comfort zone on so many fronts. It’s very fulfilling when things come together and we are working, across continents and language barriers to create something new together. For me, this is one of the most pleasurable parts of being a musician”. The Three Seas is in Australia with the support of APRA/AMCOS, DFAT and the Australia Council. For more information about their Australian and Indian tour dates visit thethreeseasmusic.com.au.
