Found Sound Nation, producers on the internationally acclaimed cultural exchange programs OneBeat (www.1beat.org) and the Dosti Music Project, announce the release of a brand new recording - Dosti Day:Night. The new recording is available free (for a donation) and features remarkably original music culled from the two month-long Dosti Music Project residencies in 2015 and 2016 which brought together musicians from Pakistan, India, and the U.S.A.
The Dosti Music Project is an initiative of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation. The project aims to foster collaboration, conversation, discovery, and community engagement through music among artists who come from regions where such ideas and experiences may not flow so freely.
The music born of this forum is unparalleled. Sufi infused indie rock, with electronica tendencies, avant garde jazz, ambient hip hop. The album also reflects its origin’s namesake - Dosti - which means friendship in both Urdu and Hindi, and a statement to transcend political and cultural barriers through cross-cultural musical collaboration.
While the “Day” portion of the album features the more traditional side of American folk, Indian and Pakistani music, it stays on the edge by seamlessly threading together all three musical worlds. This is especially portrayed in “Majare”, sung by Indian vocalist Debasmita Bhattacharya, whose Indian vocals blend in with the jazz electric guitar foundation of the track, as well as “The Gift”, featuring the unexpected, soothing and intimate vocals of Abakis and Anil Sunny’s rumbling tabla.
“Day” seamlessly segues into “Night” where dark vocals by Pakistani artist Zeerak Ahmed on “Patience” float above trance-like acoustic guitar, sarod, and synthesizers. “Lullaby”, features the stunning raga vocals of Mirande Shah. Late Night brings us “Suficore”, which like “Lullaby”, captivates the listener with Pakistani vocalist Imran Fida’s voyage through microtones and effortless ornamentation alongside the unexpected electric guitar and horn. The album closes out with the haunting electro-pop sound of “Here I Am”, which continues to remind us that the creation of this work was born out of an intensive collaboration between two disconnected cultures.
The album is produced by Found Sound Nation (FSN), whose mission is to leverage the unique power of creative sound-making to help build strong, just, healthy communities. FSN’s Dosti Music Project is a partnership with the renowned New York music collective Bang on a Can, founded in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe. FSN’s groundbreaking programs are designed to bring musical innovators together to create collaborative cross-genre works, record innovative music, produce short form videos, engage with local communities and practice music as civic engagement to promote resilient civil societies. Program fellows become lifelong ambassadors for their communities and cities; their combined voices create original works and projects that speak to audiences across the globe.
The 2016 Dosti Music Project began with a three-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, which focused on methods of collaboration and workshops with local schools & community organizations, and culminated in a 10-day tour with performances and social engagements throughout the Southeastern region of the United States. Tour stops included Savannah, Georgia; Camden, South Carolina; Asheville & Black Mountain, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and finally Nashville, Tennessee, where Dosti Fellows recorded parts of Day:Night in legendary studios, including Rancho Pillow Studios, Scarritt-Bennett Center, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Dollhouse Studios, where they captured the sounds dreamed up throughout the month to be shared with audiences all over the world with the release of Dosti Day:Night.
Dosti Day:Night is available for free, or for donation on Bandcamp: dostimusicproject.bandcamp.com/releases. All proceeds go towards Found Sound Nation, a 501c3 organization, and its future cultural exchange programs. For artist bios and more info, go to www.dostimusic.org. FSN also produced a series of music videos of pop-up and artists featured on Dosti Day:Night: dostimusic.org/videos/. Part of the Dosti Music Project mission was not only to introduce the Pakistani and Indian musicians to various parts of the United States, but also to introduce Americans to the music from this region of the world during the tour’s concerts and pop-ups. One of the most captivating juxtapositions created by these spontaneous performances was at a biker community bar named Bay 3 in Smyrna Beach, which was captured by the music video “Patience” (vimeo.com/167497845).
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