Memories, echoes and Indian time-cycles collide in this multidisciplinary concert by Aga Khan Music Award-winner Soumik Datta.
What is the cost of forgetting?
What gets created when we misremember?
‘Mone Rekho’ (or ‘Remember’ in Bengali) is an immersive concert that explores how the beauty and complexity of Indian music shifts and changes through the prism of memory.
Voices and stories appear through spatial audio technology creating an interactive sonic environment, enabling the sounds of the sarod, tabla and Indian ragas to be heard from different directions and distances.
The project was born through Soumik’s conversations with elderly people in care homes facilitated by University College of London and Alzheimer’s Society senior research fellow Dr Naaheed Mukadam. These interactions prompted Soumik to revisit his own childhood memories of his late guru Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta, returning him to the stage space through archive recordings and surround sound.
Journey through the personal and collective memories of the performers and the audience, as well as the challenges faced by generations of artists and listeners. A production in two halves, we see Soumik move between the roles of student, musician and storyteller in a space that shifts from concert hall to classroom; from care homes to the streets of Kolkata.
‘Mone Rekho’ is a tribute to the past, present and future of Indian music, as well as a reflection of our human experiences of memory, identity and creativity.
'Mone Rekho' is hosted in partnership with The Conduit, where Soumik Datta is an 'Impact Champion'.
Co-produced by Soumik Datta Arts, Bagri Foundation, University College of London, Hawkwood Centre, Strike A Light Festival, Dartington Trust, Arts Council England, G5A Forum and BNP Paribas.
Co-promoted by Woodburner.
This event is supported by PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund for Organisations.
Creative team:
Soumik Datta: sarod, composition, script, visuals
Gurdain Singh Rayatt: tabla
Camilo Tirado: audio engineer
Prattyush Banerjee: mentor
Zoe Svendsen: dramaturg & script
Simon Daw: visuals & video design