Dosti is an Urdu and Hindi word meaning friendship and we've found that it perfectly describes the Found Sound Nation's music project. The fellows came from various cities in Pakistan, India, and the United States and have been traveling the southern states together for one month, creating new music, sharing discoveries and teaching audiences about their home countries through their unique styles and instruments. They created original music from the diverse instrumentation that they were presented with while inevitably inventing new genres altogether. Tatiana Silver Hargreaves, American roots style fiddle player crossed frequencies with a classical sarodist, Debanjan Bhattacharjee from India. A live electronic artist manipulated the mic during a vocal tabla solo, and a 103 year old sarangi played by one of four sarangi players in Pakistan today harmonized with a clarinet.
It was really a spectacular set of performances last week at various venues and each one very different from the last. The first night at the Blue Nile harbored the improvisational, unpredictable, and unplanned, and the final show at Snug Harbor was an amalgamation of the pieces that have been in the creative process since the group first met. The Tigermen Den was an especially beautiful night in which the Bywater locals meandered in, not knowing quite what to expect, and perhaps being a bit surprised, but definitely pleased, at what they found, an event featuring the amazing food from the chef at Bhava, a very engaged audience, and also featuring the entrancing sound of the G-String Orchestra and lively rhythms of Steamboat Calypso.
As awesome of a musical endeavor this is for obvious artistic reasons, it is also important to note the social implications of the Dosti Music Project. Co-founders of Found Sound Nation and the Dosti Music Project, Jeremy Thal and Chris Marianetti, hope to remind people that there is in fact peace and productivity between these nations, though the media tends to prefer not to portray that side of the spectrum. This music is a small example of friendship and the breaking of social or political constructs in order to create something beautiful and beneficial to all people. Through music, the most diverse group of people and perspectives become a singularity, a friendship. Friendship is made through music and the music is made through friendship.
To learn more about each individual musician and their bounty of incredible accomplishments, visit their profiles on the Dosti website at http://dostimusic.org/musicians/
ALSO, to read more about some current social initiatives by the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, made possible by music, check out this awesome article http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/entertainment/13-Mar-2015/pakistani-showcase-at-the-south-by-southwest-music-festival
...and stay tuned for whats next from SONO!