Sounds of Kolachi - a Center Stage public diplomacy initiative of the US State Department

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DATES 2016-2017
MAR 31

VENUE MEMORIAL HALL

“Sounds of Kolachi’s distinctive sound sets it far apart. The band-cum-orchestra left audiences enthralled.” –Express Tribune (Pakistan)

Like an Indian Ocean blast from the seaport megacity it calls home, the new 10-piece supergroup of vocalists and instrumentalists from Karachi (formerly known as Kolachi) blurs raga and western harmony, counterpoint and South Asian melodic lines, all without losing the groove. In this instantly listenable ensemble, South Asian classical instruments like the sitar and bowed sarangi are on equal footing with electric guitar and rock rhythm section. Guiding the journey, composer, theorist and singer Ahsan Bari spins outrageous, bluesy, modal riffs. Like the West’s Son Lux or The National, Sounds of Kolachi defies boundaries in its mix of classical, avant-garde, jazz and rock music.

The presentation of Sounds of Kolachi is part of Center Stage, a public diplomacy initiative of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the US Regional Arts Organizations, with support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Center Stage Pakistan is made possible by the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

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