SOME like it hot, some like it bluesy, and some say AkashA's music has all that, and more — with its mix of flaming percussive beats, twanging guitars, soulful sitar, musical riffs and runs.
Akasha means the ether or air or space, and includes all entities in a common medium. There you have it, Asian and Western musical instruments blending to make good music.
Since its debut in 2008 at the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in Sarawak, homegrown world music collective AkashA has garnered a following near and far with eclectic melodies and quirky names from Ipoh Hor Fun and Qawwali to Chasing The Camel and Brickfields Blues.
For sitarist Kumar Karthigesu, the journey with AkashA has been fun with his own learning curve on his craft.
"I am a sitar teacher of classical music, but I became a student again when I challenged myself to play with a world music band. If you put yourself out of the box, not think about just doing Indian classical music, you learn new genres of music, different techniques, syncopation.
"I brought all these new experiences in music back to class. It has made me more polished as a musician and even teacher. Yes, it's a world music band but it will never be about diluting the classical art form, but more about enriching it and yourself as a musician.
"I tell my students to explore new genres, listen to other things," said the 50-year-old musician who was awarded the 2011 Tokoh Orang Hidup (Living Heritage) by the Department of National Heritage under the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.
"I don't feel 50 is that old at all!" added Kumar, a father of 2, with a chuckle.
He said he had the opportunity to perform at the RWMF 2022 in June, and it was wonderful to get back on stage after the Covid-19 pandemic years.
"When we first performed at RWMF in 2008, it was just amazing. This was our first time on stage as AkashA, and we were raw to the experience of having 20,000 people look at us adoringly. It was like being in a football stadium with all your fans. We could feel the love, the crowd was uninhibited and showed how much they loved our music.
"When we performed in June, we went back on stage as more matured musicians. It was still an adoring crowd but we were past that rawness so we could focus on the virtuosity in our music. The crowd was still feisty and hey, we closed the festival. How cool is that!"
Fresh from that stage and on to the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) hall come Sept 9 for the Spirit of AkashA concert. The group last performed at DFP in October 2010.
Kumar said the band line-up would see some changes.
AkashaA fans are used to seeing him on sitar, Jamie Wilson on guitar, Badar Fawzi Ben Taleb on percussions, Mohd Nizam Azis (various percussions), Greg Henderson (bass), Arab Saladin (composer/guitarist), Vick Ramakrishnan (percussions/tabla) and Eric Li (piano/keyboard).
"Greg, our pioneer bass player, has returned to Australia, and we have the dashing Gideon Yogan to take his place.
"For this show, Badar is unable to participate due to work commitments, and we have replaced him with John Ashley Thomas, perhaps Asia's best drummer.
"We will also be joined by guest artistes, such as Sonia Croucher on the flute, Julian Chan and Eddie Lim on the horns. It is interesting to have horn section with AkashA for the first time."
Kumar credits the producers for the DFP show, Shiraz Projects, for making it happen.
"The pandemic stalled the discussions, and we picked up the planning from the end of last year."
For Kumar, after the many successes with AkashA and the travelling to festivals around the world, including South by South West in Austin, Texas, he felt things went a bit stale.
"2014, 2015, yes, things went a little stale. Siva left to pursue his pharmaceutical business and Jamie had a job in China. So we were not producing new works. Just when we were talking about reviving the band, the pandemic came, and things went bust.
"But the best part of being in AkashA is that we when we do meet, it's all good. We are all fairly good friends, the banter is lighthearted and the camaraderie pleasant."
That, he said, was what made AkashA tick, and its music resonated with audiences.
"The DFP is a spectacular concert hall, and the acoustics are amazing. The proscenium seating and the surround feel of the audience makes it very nice to engage the audience from the stage. Plus, of course, the prestige attached to its name.
"We hope to engage a shirt-and-tie crowd with our brand of music, our sense of humour, and relax and chill out a bit with us. Come enjoy the music with us.
"This Fabulous Friday concert will hopefully be the impetus to a long-awaited road show through Malaysia, which we have intended for a long time now. We have audiences in Penang, Johor Baru, Ipoh, and so on who have been asking us to do something there. This fits perfectly with our aim to do more outreach concerts."
FABULOUS FRIDAY PRESENTS SPIRIT OF AKASHA
When: Sept 9, 8.30pm
Tickets: RM150/250/500