Sarathy Korwar + Theurbancellist

KALAK – palindromic form of ‘Kal’ – an ancient/futuristic cyclical folkloric rhythm, coined by Sarathy Korwar

We’re bound by the order of time. The more we synchronise ourselves with the clock, the more we fall out of sync with our bodies and nature – and with music.

Sarathy Korwar makes his triumphant return to Band on the Wall to perform work from his new LP, KALAK.

KALAK – the follow up to the politically charged, award-winning More Arriving – is an Indo-futurist manifesto. In rhythmic step with the past and the present, it sets out to describe a route forward. It celebrates a rich South Asian culture of music and literature, which resonates with spirituality and community, while envisaging a better future from those building blocks. Meticulous production comes courtesy of New York electronic musician, DJ and producer Photay, translating these communal rhythms and practices into a timeless and groundbreaking electronic record.

In contrast to the direct anger on More Arriving, KALAK is a more nuanced and contemplative record, while maintaining the urgency of its predecessor. From the darkness and friction emerges a new energy to imagine things differently. There’s a spirituality and warmth at play in the polyrhythms, group vocals and melodic flourishes.

“The discourse around futurism is often deeply rooted in Eurocentric ideas of the world,” Korwar explains. “Much like Afro- futurism, Indo-futurism is moving the focus to the global south. In South Asia, culturally, we envisage our relationship to the future and the past in ideas of cyclicality. For example, karma as a concept. Time doesn’t have to flow in a line but can be understood to flow in a circle.

“In music, there’s an inherent hierarchy when you talk about left to right and top to bottom. I started thinking about a rhythmic notation system that was circular. These patterns started forming over time, and the more I thought about that, and the kind of symbolism that they began to have, I realised that this would be the core of the record.”

A standing show. On sale 10am 30th Sept.