(From left to right) Ishaan Ghosh, Max Kraut, and Vroni Frisch. Photo: Elena Krinova 3
Popular Indian tabla player Ishaan Ghosh teams up with German artists Max Kraut on guitar and Vroni Frisch on bass for a free-spirited jam session on “Naya Din,” filmed in Frankfurt.
Ghosh first heard Frisch’s “Naya Din” song last year while touring Germany with Kraut’s band Lagawerk, in which Frisch plays bass. The trio has since left Lagawerk to perform other shows and record, including “Naya Din.” Ghosh adds, “I was really surprised at how beautifully this piece blends different time signatures. For me as a percussionist, this is very special – how it goes from one time signature to another and blends beautifully.”
Kroth sums up the trio as being more “intimate” than Lagaverk’s quartet and quintet arrangements, adding: “I’m playing acoustic guitar here, which gives the music a different, more delicate feel. So I really hope that this music, ‘Naya Din,’ will bring joy to people!”
Frisch, a musician from Mainz, said she appreciated working with artists from different backgrounds like Ghosh and Kraut, and was “fascinated” by the way the guitar, bass and tabla complemented each other. Adding that Kraut continues to explore Indian classical music, Frisch said she experienced and learned a lot from her collaborators. “I’m also good at pop music, but my pieces are written in the style of modern jazz and I like to play with unusual lineups,” she adds. Ghosh adds, “It’s definitely a jazz-centric piece, and it was a really fun challenge for me to blend in as an Indian percussionist, incorporate the texture of the tabla and explore new possibilities of my instrument to fit this particular piece.”
With the intention of “needing to forge new paths”, Frisch created an odd-time signature pattern common in Indian classical music, combined it with bass harmonics and added “an interesting and atmospheric chord sequence for the guitar solo”. Frisch calls the song’s mood “positive”, due to “the feeling of uncertain optimism at the start of a new day”.
Klaus and Ghosh’s relationship dates back to 2008, when the German artist studied under the Indian artist’s father, tabla virtuoso Pandit Nayan Ghosh. “Naya Din” follows previous collaborations between Klaus and Ghosh’s protégé, including two tracks on Klaus’ 2018 album, Kamaloka. Klaus, Ghosh and Frisch will perform in Frankfurt as early as June 20, with special guest violinist Nandini Shankar.
Watch the video for “Naya Din” below.
