One of the finest jazz drummers in India, Tarun Balani explores electronic music in his solo project, Seasonal Affected Beats. Referring to what he does as ‘improvised electronic music’, as Seasonal Affected Beats he brings the finesse, controlled volatility and discipline of jazz and merges it with malleability of electronic beats.
Imagined as a trans-media electronic project – that was launched in 2018 – Seasonal Affected Beats sees Tarun make music through the prism of his reality, formed by his experiences of the world around him. Themes like mental health, climate change, rapid urbanisation, socio-political issues and digital existentialism play on his mind, and find their way into his lush and tactile productions that pulse with emotions.
2 ° (2 degrees), his new EP, releases on March 13, and was the musical output outcome of his thoughts and experiences of living in a “dystopic, apocalyptic world” (read Delhi’s pollution levels) and the impending dangers of climate change. The name, 2 ° (2 degrees), in fact comes from the Paris Agreement
On Friday, he released a new track called Prelude, from his soon-to-be-released EP, 2 ° (2 degrees).
“The music of 2° (2 degrees) is composed like a suite, with each piece leading into the other and to be considered as separate movements within the suite,” says Tarun of the EP. “The song ‘Prelude’ introduces the listener to the sonic landscape of the EP, from spacey and minimal, to complex and disorderly. I hope to evoke a feeling of intrigue and leave the listeners wanting more,” he adds.
The slow crescendo of synths on ‘Prelude’ conveys the urgency of the situation and, perhaps, of Tarun’s state of mind.
You can listen to the track here:
https://fanlink.to/seasonalaffectedbeats-2degrees
Those of you who have been around from the 1960's through the 1990's will remember the vibrant live music scene in almost every starred hotel in India. Those were the days when you walked into a nightclub like 'Rendezvous' at The Taj Mahal hotel and 'Supper Club' at the Oberoi Sheraton in Mumbai to see curtains going up on a band that was the prime focus of these outlets. Every seat in these restaurants allowed an unobstructed view of the band that performed every night on resident contracts. Today all this has disappeared thanks to some ridiculously high entertainment taxes on live music. Today, non off these hotels have complete bands playing save for a few that feature small duos or solo singers. The Lodhi in New Delhi, recently listed among the world's best hotels, decided to step in and rewind to the good old days. They got Goa's premier jazz quartet 'Jazz Junction' to move to Delhi on a resident contract and the decision has paid off in terms of footfalls generated by the band. Jazz Junction featuring singer Daniella Rodrigues, pianist Tony Dias,
bassist Colin D'Cruz and drummer Angelo Colasco began playing at The Lodhi in June 2018. Four months into the contract the band generated a sizeable following, with quite a few high profile guests choosing to celebrate their special occasion at the Elan bar where the band performs. Against all odds the rewind option proved to be a huge success and hopefully other properties around the country takes the cue to trigger a whole new revival of live music.