<p>It’s raining fusion music everywhere and we can’t complain. Take ‘Merging Parallels’, for instance. It is composed by Apoorva Krishna, a 26-year-old violinist from Bengaluru. </p>.<p>She has blended Western harmonies with Carnatic music to such an effect that it won her an honorary mention as a student music composer at the 70th BMI Foundation awards in New York in May.</p>.<p>BMI Foundation is a non-profit founded by executives of Broadcast Music Incorporated to nurture the culture of music through awards, scholarships, and internships. It is said it is the first time that the Foundation has honoured Indian classical music.</p>.<p>Let’s do a deep dive into her work. ‘Merging Parallels’ is composed on the concept of ‘Adhara Shruti Bedha Ragamalika’, that is, simultaneous tonic and raga/scale shifts. It uses 18 tonic shifting ragas in ‘Khanda Chapu Thala’, throwing in mathematical verses ‘Jathi Prayogas’ and Sanskrit lyrics in Saramathi raga.</p>.<p>It begins with a Konnakol recital done against guitar chords. The vocals, khanjira and violin work in unison and stay balanced as the tones shift. The upright bass remains in step with the changing pitch through the song.</p>.<p>The video song has logged close to 12,000 views on YouTube.</p>.<p>"I am grateful to English guitarist John McLaughlin (considered the pioneer of jazz fusion). He inspired me to experiment and go beyond my comfort zone by fusing traditional Indian classical music with contemporary Western music,’’ Apoorva talks about the origin of ‘Merging Parallels’. To her delight, McLaughlin appears at the beginning of the video to praise how well she has integrated harmony and sophisticated Indian rhythms.</p>.<p>It was during a fellowship programme at Berklee College of Music in 2019 when she got to perform with McLaughlin and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.</p>.<p>Apoorva is not new to laurels. ‘Bahudari’ made in collaboration with percussionists Vinod Shyam and Sunaad Anoor won her the London Tarisio Trust Young Artist Grant 2017, a first for an Indian. </p>.<p>She constantly pushes the possibilities of music and her latest video ‘Fly Me To The Moon x Maand Thillana’ is proof. She blends jazz music seamlessly with Carnatic thillana composed in raga Maand by her guru and veteran violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman. She is also trained in Lalgudi Bani, a style popularised by Jayaraman, one that makes a violin ‘sing’.</p>.<p>Her maiden album ‘Intuition’ is also an ode to contemporary fusion, featuring Latin jazz, Flamenco, waltz, Bluegrass, jazz fusion, and other styles.</p>
<p>It’s raining fusion music everywhere and we can’t complain. Take ‘Merging Parallels’, for instance. It is composed by Apoorva Krishna, a 26-year-old violinist from Bengaluru. </p>.<p>She has blended Western harmonies with Carnatic music to such an effect that it won her an honorary mention as a student music composer at the 70th BMI Foundation awards in New York in May.</p>.<p>BMI Foundation is a non-profit founded by executives of Broadcast Music Incorporated to nurture the culture of music through awards, scholarships, and internships. It is said it is the first time that the Foundation has honoured Indian classical music.</p>.<p>Let’s do a deep dive into her work. ‘Merging Parallels’ is composed on the concept of ‘Adhara Shruti Bedha Ragamalika’, that is, simultaneous tonic and raga/scale shifts. It uses 18 tonic shifting ragas in ‘Khanda Chapu Thala’, throwing in mathematical verses ‘Jathi Prayogas’ and Sanskrit lyrics in Saramathi raga.</p>.<p>It begins with a Konnakol recital done against guitar chords. The vocals, khanjira and violin work in unison and stay balanced as the tones shift. The upright bass remains in step with the changing pitch through the song.</p>.<p>The video song has logged close to 12,000 views on YouTube.</p>.<p>"I am grateful to English guitarist John McLaughlin (considered the pioneer of jazz fusion). He inspired me to experiment and go beyond my comfort zone by fusing traditional Indian classical music with contemporary Western music,’’ Apoorva talks about the origin of ‘Merging Parallels’. To her delight, McLaughlin appears at the beginning of the video to praise how well she has integrated harmony and sophisticated Indian rhythms.</p>.<p>It was during a fellowship programme at Berklee College of Music in 2019 when she got to perform with McLaughlin and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.</p>.<p>Apoorva is not new to laurels. ‘Bahudari’ made in collaboration with percussionists Vinod Shyam and Sunaad Anoor won her the London Tarisio Trust Young Artist Grant 2017, a first for an Indian. </p>.<p>She constantly pushes the possibilities of music and her latest video ‘Fly Me To The Moon x Maand Thillana’ is proof. She blends jazz music seamlessly with Carnatic thillana composed in raga Maand by her guru and veteran violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman. She is also trained in Lalgudi Bani, a style popularised by Jayaraman, one that makes a violin ‘sing’.</p>.<p>Her maiden album ‘Intuition’ is also an ode to contemporary fusion, featuring Latin jazz, Flamenco, waltz, Bluegrass, jazz fusion, and other styles.</p>