Songs of the Madmen; Dune Festival 2007

A venue on the beach, a moonlit night, and passionate roots music from 14 of the best bauls this side of the border. Not enough? Just read through the guest artistes line-up: British-Asian crossover star Susheela Raman and husband, guitarist-composer Sam Mills, jazz cello prodigy Vincent Segal, and bass player Paul Jacob and Bonnie Chakraborty of Oikyotaan. On February 24, Pondicherry witnessed ‘Songs Of The Madmen’, a sizzling concert of world music at the Dune Eco Beach Hotel, organised by Chennai-based recording label Funky Bodhi Music. Organised by Chennai-based recording label and artistes promotion group Funky Bodhi Music along with Susheela, this was the second in the ‘Crossroads’ series of world music concerts.
“I have been at my roots for a while now,” says the dusky Susheela, “And this concert is a natural culmination of ‘Tamil Vodoo’, the show we did last year with me, Sam, and 16 of the best Tamil folk drummers around.”
While Sam Mills has been at the forefront of providing baul songs with a world music edge — Real Sugar, his album with Paban Das Baul, is a cult classic — Susheela’s unique sound has gained immense critical and popular acclaim for her records. “Since both Sam and Susheela’s music has intrinsic Indian elements, they want to do it in India. This concert, in a way, is a prelude to a bigger show, with the objective of making India a world music hotspot,” says Bonnie. His own versions of Kalamkini Radha and Gautam Chattopadhyay’s Telephone are highlights of the evening.

Published in t2, The Telegraph, April 2007