Over the past nine years Ragas Live Festival has grown to become a vital element in the cultural landscape of New York City. Since its inception in 2012 when 50 musicians volunteered to create an FM-Broadcast at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY with the theme of “Community, Unity, and Harmony,” the festival has expanded to become a popular live event at locations including The Rubin Museum of Art and for the last few years, Pioneer Works.  

As the initial broadcast blossomed into an annual event, it attracted global attention, expanded the audience of Indian music, and documented and catalyzed what the New York Times would declare a “A Raga Renaissance Flowering in Brooklyn.” Now, Ragas Live has transformed that renaissance into one of the live music industry’s rare COVID-era success stories, managing to bring together over 90 musicians, from the deserts of Rajasthan to the mountains of Kathmandu, to perform remotely from 13 global cities in a celebration of ‘Community, Unity, and Harmony’. 

The producers,  Pioneer Works, The Rubin Museum of Art, Brooklyn Raga Massive, and the podcast NYC Radio Live have teamed up to reimagine what a global music festival could be in the COVID era.  Listeners and viewers will be invited to take a journey from Japan to Nepal to Venezuela as the musical offerings flow between traditional presentations and cross-cultural, genre-blurring collaborations.  The entire event will be available free to all as a video livestream at live.pioneerworks.org/ragas and broadcast as audio on WKCR-FM 89.9 FM and  www.wkcr.org.

They’ll be cutting edge cross-cultural performances: Terry Riley  will be performing raga based   improvisations from Japan preceded by Brooklyn Raga Massive who will be premiering a 24 person performance of In D their homage to Riley.  The group will be releasing In D as an album, concurrently with the festival.  Amir ElSaffar will be collaborating with the Brooklyn Raga Massive as well with Raga Maqam a 14 piece ensemble that explores the intersections between maqam, the tonal language of Arab, Turkish, and Persian traditional music, and raga, the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. Andy Statman, the legend of klezmer and bluegrass will be exploring both Jewish doinas and ragas from the 200 year old synagogue B’nai Jeshurun.  

Founder and Executive Producer of Ragas Live Festival David Ellenbogen says, “This has always been a festival with a pan-global vision. This year that dream is fully being realized.  We’ll have artists and listeners from every continent. We reached out to many of our heroes, like Terry Riley, Toumani Diabate, Betsayda Machado and Zakir Hussain and  to our astonishment, they all said yes.  These are the people that have changed the history of music. The artists felt a kinship with our idealistic vision and we are all working together to make it happen. We’ll have both artists and audience all around the world: it will be 24 hours of global resonance.” 

Lauren Crump Associate Producer says; “Music will win the day, it won’t be a 24 hour news cycle, it will be a 24 hour music cycle. This is a landmark event in the history of contemporary music.” 

Zakir Hussain will perform a tabla solo from San Francisco, Toumani Diabate will perform kora from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Betsayda Machado y Parranda El Clavo will perform in El Clavo, Venezuela and Terry Riley from Japan.   Other highlights include Womanly Voices (of Jodhpur RIFF) performing from the Mehrangarh Fort in the Deserts of Rajasthan, Parvathy Baul singing traditional Baul music from rural West Bengal, Prince Nepali in Kathmandu, Toko Telo the Malagasy supergroup in Madagascar, Grammy award winner Vikku Vanaykram in Chennai, India and Andy Statman the legend of Klezmer and Bluegrass performing from temple B'nai Jeshrun, a nearly 200 year old synagogue in Manhattan.  

Says the festival’s Artistic Director Arun Ramamurthy, “These legendary musicians are the torchbearers of their traditions who have brought their music forward. To have them all participating is so inspiring.”

“The fact that we can’t safely do live performances this year, actually opened up new opportunities for our audience.” Ellenbogen explains,  “Some people were lucky to see for example Betsayda Machado’s group when they toured in the last few years, but to see them perform next to the river in their own hometown of El Clavo is the next level. Our audience will follow that up with a concert from Prince Nepali in the  mountains of Kathmandu.”

“Indian Classical Music is uniquely time specific, a system called Raga Samay. With the Raga Samay system, the music harmonizes with the essence of each time of day,” explains founder  David Ellenbogen,  “Certain modes will only be played at sunrise to capture that particular feeling while others may be reserved to match the essence of deep night.  All 24 sets of the Ragas Live Festival honor this time system to create a larger immersive experience. This vision has brought an entire artistic community together and inspired its music to new heights. This year as cross cultural collaborations are inhibited due to COVID, we are also presenting a lot of traditional music, like Malagasy music of Madagascar, the 800 year old djele tradition of West Africa, and Afro-Venezuelan music on their own terms.  Everyone who tunes in will become part of a international audience, together, in real time, we’ll share many moments of beauty and transcendence.”  

“I love Indian Music, I love Indian culture, I’m doing this because I think it's a beautiful idea and I want to share life and music” says Toumani Diabate, the legendary Kora player, who will perform a set from Côte d'Ivoire.

Ragas Live Festival 2020 will be streamed live on Pioneer Works Broadcast at live.pioneerworks.org/ragas

For more info, merch and to donate to the festival, please join the community on the festival home page at live.pioneerworks.org/ragas

Artists include:

Terry Riley (Himitsu, Japan)

Zakir Hussain (San Francisco, USA)

Toumani Diabate (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire)

Betsayda Machado y Parranda El Clavo (El Clavo, Venezuela)  

Brooklyn Raga Massive: In D (Manhattan, NYC, USA)

3G feat T.H. Vikku Vinayakram & Selvaganesh (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

Andy Statman (Manhattan, NYC, USA)

Womanly Voices (of Jodhpur RIFF) (Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India)

Alam Khan (Kentfield, CA, USA)

Derek Gripper (Cape Town, South Africa)

Krishna Bhatt (Brooklyn, NY, USA)

Amir ElSaffar - Raga Maqam (Brooklyn, NY, USA)

Toko Telo (Morondava, Madagascar)

Mysore Nagaraj & Karthik Nagaraj (Mysore, Karnataka, India)

Ali Akbar College of Music Percussion Ensemble (San Rafael, USA)

Dhun Dhora (featuring the Dhol Drummers of Rajasthan) (Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India)

Swapan Chaudhuri  (San Rafael, USA)

Parvathy Baul (Kamardanga, West Bengal, India)

Jay Gandhi & Arun Ramamurthy (Manhattan, NYC, USA)

Roopa Mahadevan (Brooklyn, NY)

Prince Nepali (Kathmandu, Nepal)

Flute Shashank (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

Anantha Krishnan and Charumathi Raghuram (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

Abhik Mukherjee & Samarth Nagarkar (Brooklyn, NYC, USA)

Ask Hafiz (Manhattan, NYC, USA)

Locations:

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Brooklyn, NYC, USA

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

El Clavo, Venezuela

Himitsu, Japan

Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Kamardanga, West Bengal, India

Kathmandu, Nepal

Manhattan, NYC, USA

Morondava, Madagascar

Mysore, Karnataka, India

San Francisco, USA

San Rafael, USA

Cape Town, South Africa

The leading contemporary performer of Sikh ‘Kirtan’ music, Manika Kaur continues to be the fastest selling and most popular contemporary Sikh solo artist in the world. As the very first person to place Kirtan in the European World Music Charts and views of her videos running in to the many millions, Manika’s music has not only received overwhelming praise from the global Sikh community, but has also transcended and touched the souls of music lovers from all walks of life throughout the world. Now with EK (April 16, 2021, Six Degrees Records), Manika Kaur is set to expand on this further, gaining even larger audiences and spreading the word of both her music and charitable endeavours far and wide.

The music on ‘EK’ (meaning ‘Oneness’), remains true to the venerated traditions of Kirtan and features some of the rarest instruments in the world, performed by the very best (and some of the only) remaining players of each. Every song on the album leads with one of these different and specific instruments accompanying Manika Kaur’s vocal, in order to showcase each item and to enhance the overall essence of the work. The traditional elements of the music are then combined with modern sounds, created by some of London’s most renowned music producers This precarious balance has been handled with great care in order to ensure that neither factor outweighs the other – the result is a unique piece of art, as hypnotic as it is mesmerising.

With her previous album ‘Sacred Words’, Manika Kaur was able to highlight both her music and culture to a wide range of demographics across the UK and internationally, while simultaneously attracting attention to the varied charitable endeavours of which she is a patron. All proceeds of Manika Kaur’s recorded work are dedicated to her own charitable organisation ‘Kirtan for Causes’, set up to raise funds to provide quality education to over 200 young females in rural Punjab in India.

Growing up, Manika’s family would passionately spread the teachings of Sikh founder Guru Nanak Dev ji far and wide. Her deeply spiritual connection to the Guru’s wisdom is reflected in her music, with Manika able to channel her devotion to these divine teachings through mesmerising vocal ability. Kaur is one of the only standard bearers of the tradition to reinterpret, record and perform these sacred chants beyond Sikh ‘Gurdwara’ temples, reaching a whole new global audience. Moreover, she is one of the only female proponents of Kirtan, again providing a new and unique perspective to the much-revered genre.

Manika Kaur has made multiple appearances on BBC Television, performing live on The Saturday Show and being interviewed on the BBC News channel. She has also shared her words of wisdom on the coveted ‘Pause for Thought’ segment on BBC Radio 2, as well as being featured on their flagship religious show ‘Good Moring Sunday’. World music magazine Songlines have described Manika’s music as having “emotive melodies that beautifully articulate the poetry she sings so hauntingly”, while Rhythm Passport spoke of Manika’s voice as “rich and luxuriating, coloured deep with the contours of her gentle, echoing tone.”

The album artwork for EK has been created and designed by The Singh Twins (MBE): internationally renowned British artists, whose award-winning work explores important issues of social political and cultural debate and re-defines narrow Eurocentric perceptions of art, heritage and identity. The tranquil and mesmerising songs on EK will accelerate and strengthen Manika Kaur’s evolution into a public figure, known for not only for the unique and captivating music that she creates, but also for the life changing opportunities that are generated when people engage with it.

Combining Togolese festive and ritual rhythms, hypnotic voodoo melodies and provocative lyrics that speak to a new generation of young Africans, Togolese artist DOGO du Togo has managed to embody the heart and soul of modern Togo with his debut self-titled album DOGO du Togo (to be released Oct. 28, 2022).

DOGO’s distinctive guitar styles and his soulful lead call-and-response vocals blend seamlessly with bass, kpanlogo drums, hands clapping, bells, and shakers to form a richly autochthonous groove so rooted in Togolese life that it seems to spring forth directly from the streets of Lomé.

It is important to DOGO to highlight Togo’s diverse musical styles, including regional festive rhythms and ritual voodoo melodies, while writing songs with a vibe and message that appeals to Togolese people.  The first single, “Adze Adze” is a great example of this approach, featuring voodoo melodies and a strong message. DOGO says “this song is calling on young people from Africa to stand up, to do the right thing, to find freedom, and not to let the West take advantage of the continent anymore. At the same time, calling leaders to wake up and actually lead. The melody is especially interesting at the end of the song when the guitar solo is mimicking the chants that you hear in certain voodoo ceremonies.” The song is based on Agbadza music and dance that evolved from the times of war into a very popular recreational dance. Everyone is welcome to join in the dance, unlike other Ewe dances, which sometimes are reserved for people of a certain age, religion, or gender.

The track “Obligation” has a similar melodic and political bent but is played over the faster Gazo rhythm also from the Ewe people who live in parts of Ghana, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo, a region which DOGO calls too small to be divided.

On a more festive note, the track “Sokewo” is based on the Akpesse-Bobobo rhythm.  DOGO says “This song is very important because it’s about forgiveness. Bobobo gained national recognition in the 1950s and 1960s because of its use at political rallies and the novelty of its dance formations and movements. It is generally performed at social occasions. This is a social dance with a great deal of room for free expression so it became popular quickly.”

While political themes are prevalent on many of the album’s tracks including “Africa” and “Adja,” which addresses police brutality, other songs are of a more personal nature. For example, the first song on the album, “Zonva,” DOGO wrote for his son when he was born. “I tell him I love him and tell people to take care of the kids because we see that so many kids are being abandoned in society these days. So the album is not only political but is also really personal.”

Another personal track, “Von Na Agbeto” is based on the Simpa rhythm played in the northern part of Togo by the Tem people. Simpa originated from Sierra Leone’s Gumbe (brought by the freed slaves who relocated during the 18th century from Jamaica). Gumbe traveled to Ghana, where it mixed with highlife to create the Ghana Simpa (faster than the one played in Togo). The Ghana Simpa traveled to Togo and changed due to the influence of other music in Togo. This song tells the story of an adopted orphan who forgot all about his adoptive family when he became wealthy. The lyrics warn the good-hearted to be careful and not trust too much.  DOGO explains this is a very personal story because the orphan in the story was someone his parents took care of, and someone he considered a brother.

DOGO previously released “Von Na Agbeto” in Togo; it quickly topped the charts and remained a favorite on many radio stations in the country. As the track caught fire, Togolese DJs began calling DOGO “L’enfant du pays” (the native son) for the way he expertly weaves Togolese culture and tradition into this new, exciting sound.

About that unique sound, DOGO says, “I really wanted this album to be acoustic because I just want it to feel like Togo compared to other countries. Togo isn’t noisy, even the capital city of Lomé is ambiently less chaotic than other cities, like Kinshasa in Congo or Lagos, Nigeria.  Lomé isn’t quiet but it has a subtleness; it brings you peace, and when we recorded in Togo, I didn’t want the guys to overplay. I wanted them to play in a way that we don’t take much out of the authenticity. We made sure that the music is not distorted by the arrangement or by the instrumentation. We really made an effort to capture that feeling of Togo in the recording process and made sure that we stayed as natural and authentic as possible.”

Born in Lomé, Togo, Serge DOGO moved to the U.S. and settled in the Washington, DC area in the 2000s where he created critically-acclaimed Afropop/Afrofunk band Elikeh. Now a fixture on the regional club and festival circuit, Elikeh is known for their high energy live performances and original material. Yet, after releasing Elikeh’s 3 albums and an EP to rave reviews, DOGO was inspired to do something closer to his Togolese roots for his next project and began spending more time in his native Lomé in recent years. Being there and performing with his friends is what inspired him to record DOGO du Togo.

“I want this album to really feel like you are in Togo when you listen to it,” says DOGO. “I also want to make sure that I really represent Togolese music authentically, that the inspiration is not from outside influences, but from the heart of the county and the culture.”

For twenty-five years now, Boston-based dub-jazz collective Club d’Elf has been helping audiences lose track of time while creating mesmerizing musical chimeras that weave their distinct, Moroccan folk-infused trance with elements from an astonishing spectrum of other styles, including jazz, hip-hop, electronica, avant-garde, prog-rock, and dub.

To celebrate its silver anniversary, Club d’Elf is announcing a string of U.S. tour dates in February and March (see below) and the accompanying digital re-release of their storied debut album As Above ( dropping February 8, 2023). 

With a core group currently consisting of founder/bassist/composer Mike Rivard, drummer Dean Johnston, Moroccan oud player Brahim Fribgane, and Mister Rourke on turntables — every Club d'Elf performance and recording over the past two-and-a-half decades has featured an ever-evolving and revolving cast of players, drawn from a who’s who list of the most sought after and creative improvisers from the jazz, DJ, rock & world music scenes of Boston, NYC and beyond.

Originally released exclusively on CD in 2000, As Above will now be available for the first time ever on Spotify and all major digital streaming platforms. Recorded live over the course of six performances in 1999/2000 at Cambridge’s legendary subterranean venue The Lizard Lounge, the album’s twenty tracks eternalize the early days of Club d’Elf‘s development while immortalizing some amazing musical pairings — including the historic meeting of Reeves Gabrels (The Cure) & Joe Maneri — one of  Rivard’s favorite mash-ups in the band's history.

“It's always been our style to remix the music with players who come from distinctly different backgrounds,” says Rivard, “and this was one of the coolest examples of that. Reeves was playing with David Bowie at the time and Joe was a legend in the free jazz and microtonal scenes. They couldn't have been further apart musically speaking, but their openness to each other and deep listening helped to create something that defies categorization.”

In addition to Rivard (on electric and acoustic basses), the eclectic cast of collaborators on As Above includes DJ Logic (turntables), Kenwood Dennard (drums), Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Duke Levine (guitar), Alain Mallet (keyboards), Mat Maneri (electric violin), Joe Maneri (tenor sax, clarinet), Erik Kerr (drums), Brahim Fribgane (oud, doumbek and qaraqab), and Dr. Didg (didgeridoo) amongst others.

Club d’Elf began in 1998 at the Lizard Lounge as a kind of controlled jam session, featuring Rivard’s friends and associates from various bands. Mark Sandman (Morphine) was an important catalyst, suggesting that it was time for Rivard to form his own band.  An in-demand sideman, Rivard had earned notice playing bass with Jonatha Brooke & The Story, Paula Cole, Either/Orchestra, and a Sandman side project, Hypnosonics. Rivard envisioned a band that wasn’t built around the specificity and spotlight that frontmen usually demand, but one that would facilitate and follow spontaneous cinematic soundscapes created by the unique contribution of each member of the collective. Out of the original D’Elf jam pool emerged a core group, usually augmented by one or two other players from a rotating cast. (for a comprehensive list of rotating Club d’Elf cast members and special guests over the years, go here).

The As Above digital re-release and the upcoming tour both follow fast on the heels of the April 2022 release of You Never Know, the collective's 3rd studio album (and its first since 2011). Touting an impressive lineup including John Medeski, Brahim Fribgane, Duke Levine, David Fiuczynski, Kevin Barry, Paul Schultheis, Dean Johnston, and Mister Rourke, the well-received album reached #2 on the Relix Chart. The album features Rivard’s commanding playing of the sintir, a three-stringed bass lute used in trance-healing ceremonies in Morocco. While the first half of YNK pays homage to some of the collective’s primary influences, with renditions of Gnawa and Sufi folk tunes and covers from Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Moroccan band Nass el-Ghiwane, and Frank Zappa — the second half of the album consists of meditative and trance-laden original compositions inspired by a long, dark period in Rivard’s life following a harrowing health crisis in the remote Peruvian Amazon, and his eventual reemergence into the light.

“Sort of a Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey, I went through Chapel Perilous and lived to tell the tale,” reflects Rivard. “During the period of my depression I was uncertain as to whether or not I had anything left to offer creatively, and going into the studio represented a “hail mary” on my part. I’m excited that it turned out as well as it did, and that I was able to assemble such an extraordinary crew of musicians to play with.”

Fans can expect to encounter equally extraordinary and unique musicianship across each of Club d’Elf’s 2023 tour dates, with special guests including Medeski, Gabrels, Lyle Brewer (Neighbor), Rob Compa (Dopapod), and Duke Levine (Bonnie Raitt). Since the collective’s active personnel changes radically from show to show, many fans have their own favorite configurations of players. But that sort of constant flow and remixing of disparate talent means the music itself is also in constant flux. Individual songs can vary dramatically from performance to performance as new alignments of players make every moment fresh, so each of the following shows will provide a wholly unique, and likely transcendent, musical experience:

Club d’Elf confirmed 2023 tour dates:

1/13/23 Newmarket, NH @ The Stone Church  (tickets)

2/4/23 Crested Butte CO - Alpenphunk Festival @ Public House feat. John Medeski (tickets)

2/10/23 Fall River MA @ The Narrows Center feat Duke Levine (tickets)

2/11/23 Stowe VT @ Stowe Cider feat. Rob Compa (Dopapod) (tickets)

2/15/23 New York, NY @ Cutting Room (tickets)

2/16/23 Providence RI @ Fete Music Hall (tickets)

2/17/23 Cambridge MA @ Lizard Lounge feat. Lyle Brewer (Neighbor) (advance tickets SOLD OUT, a limited number will be available at the door)

2/18/23 Burlington VT @ Foam Brewers feat. Rob Compa (Dopapod) (tickets)

2/22/23 Cambridge MA @ Lizard Lounge

2/23/23 Bridgeport CT @ Park City Music Hall (tickets)

2/24/23 Northampton MA @ Bombyx (tickets)

2/25.23 Portsmouth NH @ The Press Room (tickets)

3/10/23 Marlboro NY @ The Falcon feat. John Medeski & Reeves Gabrels (The Cure) (reservations)

More 25th Anniversary Dates coming soon!

As Above will be available on all major digital streaming platforms on Feb. 8, 2023.

You can keep up to date on Club d’Elf tour dates here.

Puerto Rico’s multi-Grammy–nominated musical masters, Plena Libre have consistently been enthralling audiences around the globe over the course of their storied 30-year, 16-album career with their original sound — one that infuses the traditional plena and bomba rhythms of  Puerto Rico with a fresh spring mix of Afro-Caribbean and jazz styles to create groove-laden dance music that honors their deep sense of the unique indigenous musical traditions, while embracing modern trends.

Now, Plena Libre are celebrating their 30th anniversary in style, unleashing a new wave of awe-inspiring hand drumming, vivacious horns, and soul-soaring three-part vocal harmonies with the release of their new album Cuatro Esquinas (Four Corners), to be released March 31, 2023. The fine-tuned, original band of 12 versatile  virtuoso musicians will also be captivating audiences across the map in 2023 with live performances scheduled at festivals in Puerto Rico, the United States, and Europe, including an appearance at the prestigious New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Founder, bandleader, and bassist Gary Nuñez stress the appropriateness of the title, since the group’s music, and especially that of this new album, reflects personal, universal situations, accompanied by the unique sounds of the Puerto Rican rhythms of the bomba and the plena. The album title was inspired by Nuñez’s youth, growing up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood where “Four Corners”, alluded to a local meeting point that sometimes even carried an unfairly bad reputation.  

Says Nuñez, “Cuatro Esquinas”, in my adolescence, used to be a meeting point in my neighborhood, with some ‘bad reputation’. It was known as ‘4 Esquinas’ because in each corner there was a bar or bodega. It was the place where people met and all sorts of characters gathered there and replaced their sorrows with some joy, romance, adventure, or consolation. It is the part of our history that does not appear in the “stories” that we were told about who Puerto Ricans are”

Cuatro Esquinas is a representation of some of those experiences, captured in a mix of “traditional” and original songs. Featuring four vocalists singing in lush three-part harmonies – with an aggressive, tight, yet sensitive style, which balances the traditional with the contemporary, the global, and the local – Plena Libre creates a brand of music and live performance that captivates the multicultural audience, invites to dance and to listen to their sound.

The track, “Tu cintura con la mía” was arranged by Luisga Núñez, son of Gary Nuñez who shares with his father a passion for parranda, bajo, and vocal harmonies — bringing a taste of the next generation to the distinctive elements of the group.

“We dedicate this recording to the public and to all those people who have supported Plena Libre, through those 30 years. To all the musicians who are and who have been part of this experience, we are GRATEFUL”, enthused Núñez, who took the opportunity to particularly thank his wife Valerie Cox “for the unconditional, necessary and total support for three decades and to all the musicians that were part of this album, making it possible”.

Apart from Gary Núñez as director and bassist, Plena Libre is made up of: Víctor Vélez (vocals/percussion), Luisga Núñez (vocals/percussion), Rafi Falú (requinto), Miguel A. de Jesús (vocals/percussion), Alex “Callejero” López (vocals/percussion), Rafy Torres, Randy Román and Kevin Ortiz on trombones, Pedro Dominicci (timbales), Manuel Rivera (congas), Karla Martínez on piano and Yarina Torres in charge of choirs.

Cuatro Esquinas will be available on all major streaming platforms on March 31, 2023.

Check here for tour updates: https://www.plenalibre.com/tour-dates

Pioneer Works is thrilled to announce the 12th annual Ragas Live Festival, a signature NYC cultural highlight, to be held from October 14-15, 2023. Presenting 24 continuous hours of spiritual and transcendent music, the festival promises an unprecedented melding of raga maestros and international legends in ambient, minimalism, and new music genres, all on the Pioneer Works main stage.

This year’s eclectic performances will feature masters of the raga tradition such as Ramakrishnan Murthy and The Akkarai Sisters, as well as iconic figures from the worlds of ambient music, minimalism, and new music, including Vicky Chow, David Cossin & Mark Stewart of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and Mind Maintenance - a collaboration between Joshua Abrahms and Chad Taylor.

With Terry Riley’s gracious endorsement, composer Amir ElSaffar will premiere a piece influenced by Riley’s groundbreaking "In C". The new work, titled "In E half-flat", will serve as the grand finale and features an ensemble of 12 musicians well-versed in the microtonal Maqam tradition of North Africa and the Middle-East.

A nod to the unique time cycle of ragas, where specific modes resonate at particular times of the day, the festival's 24-hour format reflects the rhythm and spirit of these classical modes. Attendees can expect a diverse range of performances, from a Georgian Polyphonic choir and Hindustani-influenced modular synth to mesmerizing sunset and sunrise acts by maestros of the sarod, santoor, sitar, and veena.

Mark your calendars for September 5th, when the full lineup and schedule will be unveiled.

For those unable to attend in person, WKCR - FM will broadcast all 24 hours of live performances, ensuring the festival’s rich sounds reach a global audience.

About Ragas Live Festival:

Initiated as an in-studio radio broadcast at Columbia University's WKCR in 2012, Ragas Live Festival quickly captivated a worldwide listening audience. Celebrating the Indian Classical tradition, the annual event soon became pivotal to what esteemed publications like the New York Times, New Yorker, and NPR have dubbed “The Raga Renaissance”. 2016 marked the festival’s migration to Pioneer Works for a live audience experience, where it has consistently enjoyed a fervent following.

This annual musical odyssey is presented in partnership with Brooklyn Raga Massive and the Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia.

Ragas Live Festival 2023 is grateful for the support of the Brooklyn Arts Council. The Brooklyn Arts Fund (DCLA) is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department.

Jefferson Berry & the UAC proudly announce the release of "First Purple Light," the first-ever all A.I. folk music video. Inspired by the haunting melodies of the song and the urgent need to address domestic violence, this innovative project pushes artistic boundaries while shedding light on a pressing social issue.

"First Purple Light" is a poignant track featured on the 2023 album "Prairie Fire" by Jefferson Berry & the UAC, marking their third album release in four years. Building on the success of their previous collaborations, including the award-winning "We'll Soon Be Together," this latest venture delves into the dark reality of domestic violence plaguing communities worldwide.

Crafted in collaboration with Provoke Film’s Ciro Ayala, the video project stands as a testament to the power of art in driving social change. Through a carefully scripted A.I. storyboard overseen by Jefferson Berry himself, and the lyrical depth of the song, Art Director Ciro Ayala employed six distinct A.I. programs to bring the vision to life. The result is a visually arresting narrative that confronts the scourge of domestic violence head-on.

While the video's beauty is undeniable, its content may be disturbing or triggering for some viewers due to its portrayal of domestic violence themes. As such, viewer discretion is advised.

The band's performance for the video was expertly captured by Joe Schufreider, who managed the camera and lighting at Lafayette Hills Studios just outside Philadelphia. Through seamless collaboration and technical prowess, the team has created a piece of art that resonates on both emotional and intellectual levels.

Moreover, "First Purple Light" serves a greater purpose beyond its artistic merit. In alignment with the project's mission to raise awareness about domestic violence, a portion of the proceeds will support the Domestic Violence Hotline, providing vital resources and support to those affected by abuse.

Jefferson Berry & the UAC invite music enthusiasts and advocates alike to experience "First Purple Light" and join the conversation on combating domestic violence. The video is now available for viewing here, offering a glimpse into the intersection of music, technology, and social activism.

For more information about Jefferson Berry & the UAC and their latest projects, visit their website.