Live Music
Ceol Mor
Saturday 7th August, The Big Top 12.30-1.15pm
Ceol Mor is the Aberdeen International Youth Festival's traditional music band, compromising of some of Scotland's most promising young musicians. The band performs innovative arrangements of traditional Scottish music as well as original work exploring the margins between traditional music, jazz and contemporary classical music. As well as performing at the Aberdeen International youth Festival since 2006, the group have also performed at several annual events including Celtic connections and the Scots Trad Music Awards.
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Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali
Saturday 7th August, The Big Top 3.15-4.15pm
Rizwan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan are the torchbearers of a tradition that goes back over 700 years, the tradition of Qawwali - the devotional music of the Sufis of Pakistan and India. When the unforgettable Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died in Pakistan in 1997, he left a musical vacuum into which stepped his two teenage nephews. Despite their youth, they were determined to continue their uncle's pioneering efforts to transcend cultural, language and religious barriers.
This visit as part of their extensive European summer tour brings them to the UK for the first time in five years and provides a rare and un-missable opportunity to experience one of the World’s greatest music genres.
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Something Relevent
Saturday 7th August, The Big Top
6.30-7.30pm
Something Relevant are India’s leading Jam Rock Band. With explosive energy and great songs, STR are upbeat, improvisational and always bang on trend! An energetic seven -piece ensemble, their music is a fusion of funk, blues, reggae, rock, pop, soul & hip hop, resonating with the city sounds of Mumbai. Their songs are original, drawn from personal experiences and dreams, with gripping instrumental jams, youthful effervescence and an irrepressible love for live performance. The band's debut album 'Feels Good 2B Live' was released in 2009 (Relevant Records/Silk Road).
“tremendous energy on stage and a great attitude…among India’s top 25 bands”
- Rolling Stone Magazine
“One of Mumbai's hottest acts” - Hindustan Times
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Northern Xposure
Saturday 7th August,
The Big Top, 7.45-8.15pm
Home grown talent, NorthernXposure are Scotland's No.1 rap crew. BAFTA nominated, they have toured in the USA with such groups as 'Naughty By Nature' and 'The Roots', and in the UK and Europe with, 'Busta Rhymes', 'Fatman Scoop', 'Coolio', 'Amy Winehouse', 'Roots Manuva' and 'N-Dubz' to mention a few. The crew have been running for over a decade and their current album 'The Last Piece of
The Puzzle' is an amalgam of dub step, reggae, philosophical hip hop and conscious world beats; resulting in a captivating and original hybrid sound. ‘The Last Piece of The Puzzle ‘ is available to download or purchase now worldwide through HMV and I – tunes. Beats by Mungo's Hi-Fi/Dagnabbit.
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Bonafide
Saturday 7th August, The Big Top
8.15-9.00pm
Bonafide is a duo consisting of Maz and Ziggy. Both members are singers, songwriters, rappers as well as composers. Not only that, they are also multilingual - they can rap and sing in Punjabi as well as English.
Their 2008 single release 'Ishq Hogaya’ was a huge hit, reaching number one on radio stations nationwide including staying at the top spot for 13 weeks at one Manchester radio station.
This led to Bonafide being 'marked for the month' on B4U Music. A platform usually associated with Top Bollywood stars. After the huge success of ‘Ishq Hogaya’ the stage was set for Bonafide’s debut album ‘Life Through Melody’ which was released in February 2009. It became one the best selling albums of the year with the follow up single ‘Pata Laga Na’ another massive hit.
Bonafide are real crowd pleasers, enthusiastic and full of energy on the stage. To date Bonafide have performed in over thirty cities around the world including Dubai and Lahore. One of their most memorable performances was when they performed at Shilpa Shetty's birthday in 2007 at Victorian Quarters in Leeds. Adding to their list of musical accolades the duo were recently nominated at the annual UK Asian Music Awards.
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Pulse of the Place
Saturday 7th August,
Garden Stage, 1.15-1.45pm
Pulse of the Place are a local youth samba drumming group from Leith, Edinburgh. They are regular performers at the Mela and last year assembled a 40 piece band for the event.
The band has an age range of 7yrs to 19yrs and can perform with anything from 5 to 40 members. Over the last few years the band have performed at numerous community events including the Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade, the Liverpool Samba Carnival, the Lord Mayors Parade in Liverpool, Young Edinburgh Awards and recently as part of the 2010 Leith Festival.
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Lothian and Borders Police Choir
Saturday 7th August, Garden Stage, 2.00-2.30pm
Lothian and Borders Police Choir is Scotland's first police choir. It was formed in October 2008, and has quickly grown in strength and appeal with its contemporary and original arrangements of well-known songs. The Police Choir is now in demand at events, churches, charity gigs and concerts across the country, and in May performed at The Scottish Parliament. In 2011, the Police Choir will sing at various venues in New York City to demonstrate Scotland's support in marking the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities, and is currently looking for sponsorship to fund this important contribution to global compassion.
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Townhouse
Saturday 7th August, Garden Stage 3.30-4.00pm
One of Edinburgh's finest acoustic acts, Townhouse brings you a unique and lyrical hybrid of folk/pop/soul genres under the slogan ‘Music to Move to and Music to Move You’.
Townhouse are: Lisa Rigby (vox/guitar/mandolin/shruti box), Stuart Clark (vox/guitar/cajon) and John Farrell (basses/guitars). Playing together in Edinburgh for 5 years the trio have steadily gained a growing core of followers. Lisa as solo act has become a winner in two of the Scottish Burnsong competitions (2007 & 2009) while together as a group Townhouse also reached the finals of Radio Forth's One to Watch competition in 2009. Feature gigs for 2010 so far include shows at Knockengorroch World Ceilidh and the Edinburgh Festival (as Townhouse and in collaboration with Lee Patterson).
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Ask-I-Trio
Saturday 7th August, Garden Stage, 5.15-5.45pm
Sunday 8th August, Garden Stage, 5.45-6.30pm
lhan Barutcu was born in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast in 1956. He studied music at the İstanbul Technical University State Conservatory and was privileged to study under Turkey’s best musicians and teachers during his time there. After completing his university studies in 2000, Ilhan spent the following year as conductor of the prestigious Bodrum Municipal Choir, before taking up his present position as lecturer and head of department at the Karadeniz Technical University State Conservatory in Trabzon.
Ilhan’s first visit to Scotland was to perform at the Edinburgh Mela and International Middle Eastern Festival of Peace and Sipirituality (Edinburgh) in 2005. During this visit, Professor Nigel Osborne invited him to work at the University of Edinburgh’s, Cultural Music Department for six months, in which during his stay IIhan taught students the Ney alongside Turkish music theory and rhythm. In addition to a distinguished academic teaching career IIhan has released two albums under his own name (Ney Taksimleri and Ask-ı Neyzen).
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Stroat Ensemble
Sunday 8th August, Garden Stage,
4.45-5.30pm
Making their Edinburgh Mela debut - Stroat Ensemble are a Big-Brass-Band from Holland, who performance a wide variety of music including Mambo, Blues, Swing, Jazz and Rock and Roll genres. Every two years the 22 people band embark on tour within a specifically selected country in Europe – in 2010 this is Scotland. As a result the band has played all over Europe namely Italy, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and France.In existence for over 33 years the band features a number of family connections and age ranges – for example the oldest member is 56 while the youngest player is only 9 years old. The band travel on tour in their own ‘Art’ Touring Bus (check out their website below to see this!). One thing is for sure,watch out Edinburgh - Stroat Ensemble coming to a road near you this August!
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Festival Jam Session - led by GOL
Saturday 7th August, Garden Stage,
6.00-7.30pm
The Mela will end on Saturday in true Scottish style with a jam session and cross-cultural ceilidh as musicians from a number of groups attending bring Saturday to an exciting close.
GOL, an Edinburgh based band are quickly emerging as staples of the local Scottish festival scene with previous performances at Edinburgh Mela 2009, Celtic Connections, Big Tent and Meadows festivals. Their unique sound is as a result of crossing musical boundaries between East and West (specifically UK and Iran) informed by jazz, world, pop and electronic genres. Re-formed in late 2008, GOL are Roxana Pope on Vocals (Persian & English), Pete Vilk (Drum kit & samples), Yann Seznec (Keyboards & live sampling), Allan Ferguson (Bass), Mat Clements (Percussion) and Jordon Kalaitzoglou (Saxaphones, Clarinet, Turkish Nay & Greek Kaval).
Their latest EP “ Roots” was released in November 2009 |
Shiraz
The Big Top, 2.45-4.30pm
A lavish depiction of the story behind the creation of the Taj Mahal, the woman who inspired it and the two men who loved her. Accompanied by live, specially commissioned music from the Sabri Ensemble.
Filmed entirely on location in India with a cast of thousands, this remarkable product of early Indian cinema went on to inspire a generation of film makers by its combination of documentary techniques and epic subject matter.
Shiraz is one of an extraordinary trilogy films by German director Franz Osten working in collaboration with Indian actor and producer Himansu Rai. This groundbreaking East & West partnership is echoed in the dynamic, cross-cultural score by Sarvar Sabri.
Sabri leads the Sabri ensemble in an exploration of melodic and rhythmic influences drawn from South Asian, Latin American, jazz and Western classical traditions. The line up of tabla, sarangi, violin, piano, vocals, bass, sitar, saxophone and flute combine to create a rich soundscape that seamlessly complements the original film, despite an eighty-year gap in their conception.
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Jaz Dhami
Sunday 8th August, The Big Top,
6.15-7.30pm
From the Heart of the UK Bhangra Industry (Handsworth, Birmingham), singer Jaz Dhami looks set to redefine the UK Punjabi music rulebook.
From the tender age of nine Jaz’s vocal abilities were recognised by his father who had been a singer in an 80’s Bhangra group himself. With the support of family and friends, Jaz’s musical journey began to take form when he was taken under the wing of renowned Ustad Ajit Singh Mutlashi Ji who taught Jaz the roots of Indian classical music. Spending time in India further motivated Jaz to embrace his culture and heritage and fuse it with his talent, developing what is frequently described as the “angelic” voice we hear today.
On returning from to the UK, the scholar of Punjabi music exercised his talent and gained entry into Paul McCartney’s distinguished Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where he successfully achieved his Diploma in Popular Music and Sound Technology, Jaz then returned to India to accomplish a second degree from Chandigharh University in Indian classical music. His efforts were recognised and well received by internationally renowned playback singer Jayshree Shivram Ji in Mumbai, who gave Jaz further advanced vocal training, broadening his musical horizons in Hindi and Ghazal.
Jaz now offers vocal tutoring to other young individuals who aim to pursue their dreams and ambitions. Jaz was first heard on Aman Hayer’s Groundshaker 2nd album on the track “Sadi Jind Jaan”, which has been internationally received as a global hit track…watch this space!
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Taz (Stereo Nation)
Sunday 8th August, The Big Top, 7.30-8.30pm
Pop Icon, Bollywood Star, Singer, Songwriter, and Multi Platinum Selling Artist TAZ – STEREO NATION celebrates 21 Years of being in the music business with a live performance at the 2010 festival.
His sound is best described as a hybrid of traditional Asia fused with Western pop, infectious melodies and dynamic dance beats. Musical influences include Prince, Stevie Wonder, Ali Khan, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley and Kuldip Manak to name a few. Taz Stereo Nation’ successes includes various UK top 40 entries and dynamic performances all over the world. Live on stage, Taz Stereo Nation is well known for his high energy, dynamic, lyrical sets – a performance not to be missed!
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DJ Wax
Sunday 8th August, The Big Top, 8.30-9.30pm
1 day, 2 DJ’s, 3 cities
– Mission Impossible?
Cardiff, London and Edinburgh Mela’s team up this summer for a unique challenge. In 2010 all three cities’ celebrate their respective Melas on the same day and to commemorate this have been working together to presenting a exciting challenge for one of the BBC Asian Network’s biggest names DJ Wax entitled “Planes, Trains and Rickshaws”.
The challenge is this.... to perform at all three events on the same day – in what will be a battle of motorways, airports and stations! Kicking off at the Cardiff Mela with an opening set DJ Wax will be joined by the ‘tallest DJ in the world’ (in association with Nutkhut) as he then heads along the M4 to London to wow mid afternoon crowds at the Londons’s Mela. Before dashing onto a waiting flight at nearby Heathrow airport which will whisk the pair to Edinburgh to bring an exciting close this year’s festival. Can they do it? Join us at 8.30pm on Sunday 8th August in the Big Top Tent to find out!
Read on below for more information about DJ Wax.
Full name Waquas Saeed, ‘Wax’ joined the BBC Asian Network in 2004 on a work-experience placement with the Asian Interactive team. When his placement came to an end he charmed his way onto Gagan Grewal's show working as a Broadcast Assistant. His quirky behavior off-air, spawned the on-air character 'Wacky Waqas'. In 2007 Wax joined 'The Adil Ray Show' production team, soon becoming a regular part of the show and where he is probably best remembered for his on-air campaign, 'I Love B.O.' (Barack Obama). Shortly after captaining his very own self-titled show, Wax was nominated for a 'Rising Star' Sony Award.
Martin Aelred
Sunday 8th August,
Garden Stage, 12.30-1.00pm
Chill Out operatis.
Zawadi Women's Choir
Sunday 8th August, Garden Stage,
1.15-1.45pm
The idea of the Zawadi Choir was born with the aim of helping to raise awareness of the Africa Centre Scotland. To bring together people who love and are interested in singing. The Zawadi Choir is about: reducing isolation, nourishing well being, friendship, and promoting African culture through music.
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G Band
Sunday 8th August, Garden Stage 3.00-3.45pm
Bangladeshi music is diverse, rich, and as a result enables it to transcend across a range of musical genres. G Band takes popular and authentic Bangladeshi songs and fuses them with the rock and pop genres presenting inspiring new takes on traditional songs. Performing on stage with live musician the arrangements featured are specifically custom made for this year’s festival.
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Jaipur Kawa Brass Band
Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th August,
around Festival Site, various times
Jaipur Kawa Brass Band hail from Rajasthan, North India. Founded by the renowned musician and musical director, Hameed Khan, all members of the Jaipur Brass Band are professional artists with their fathers and forefathers musicians in the brass band tradition.
The band’s performances are a wonderful spectacle of colour with Indian classical and traditional music and feature a dancer alongside a fakir or magician to entertain and amaze their audiences.
The percussionists compromise of a cymbal player, a side drum player and a bass drum. While the female dancer hails from the Sapera (or Kalbelya) community; traditional snake charmer nomads from the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The band’s fakir, likewise, comes from a very ancient tradition of wandering entertainers, going from village to village and, in the past the royal courts to amuse and surprise with their daring acts of dancing on nail beds, swallowing swords, and balancing tricks. A performance not to be missed!
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