Sarathy Korwar - Coolie '2019

Tracks list

Born in the US, Sarathy Korwar grew up in Ahmedabad and Chennai in India. He
began playing tabla aged 10, but was also drawn to the American music that he
heard on the radio and leaking through the doorway of his local jazz music shop
(Ahmad Jamal and John Coltrane were early discoveries). At 17, Korwar moved to
Pune to study Environmental Science, but instead dedicated his time to music,
practising tabla under the tutelage of Rajeev Devasthali, translating his skills
to the western drum kit and playing as a session musician. 

On completing these studies a decade ago, he moved to London where he trained as
a classical tabla player under the guidance of Sanju Sahai at SOAS (The School
of Oriental and African Studies), focusing on the adaptation of Indian classical
rhythmic material to non-Indian percussion instruments.

Korwar has since established himself as one of the most original and compelling
voices in the UK jazz scene, leading the UPAJ Collective - a loose band of South
Asian jazz and Indian classical musicians brought together through a love of
collaboration and improvisation who set up a residency at the Jazz Café in
London. Korwar has collaborated with the likes of Shabaka Hutchings (The Comet
Is Coming), clarinettist Arun Ghosh and producer Hieroglyphic Being, as well as
groups Penya and Ill Considered. He has toured with Kamasi Washington, Yussef
Kamaal and Moses Boyd.

Korwar’s daring debut album, Day To Day, recorded with the support of the
Steve Reid Foundation, was released by Ninja Tune in 2016. The album fused
traditional folk music recorded with the Sidi community in India (combining East
African, Sufi and Indian influences) with contemporary jazz and electronics.

In November 2018, Gearbox Records released a triple vinyl live album by Sarathy
Korwar and UPAJ Collective. My East Is Your West, performed and recorded at a
sold out Church of Sound show, is a brilliant and unique blend of Londons new
jazz talent with Indian classical instrumentation. A critically-acclaimed take
on the cultural appropriation of ‘spiritual’ Indo-jazz, the three
hour show was recorded following a single 45-minute rehearsal. The resulting
album was awarded The Guardians Contemporary Album of the Month.

Korwar releasee his second studio album, More Arriving, through The Leaf Label
in July 2019. With this latest release, Korwar blasts out his own vibrant,
pluralistic narrative for the world to hear. This is not necessarily a record of
unity; it is an honest reflection of Korwar’s experience of being an
Indian in Britain, and as such is a leap forward from his previous releases,
incorporating rappers from Mumbai and New Delhi, spoken word and his own Indian
classical and jazz performances. More Arriving is a record born of
confrontation; one for our confrontational times. 

01. Sarathy Korwar - Coolie (5:25)
02. Sarathy Korwar - Coolie (Dennis Bovell Dub) (5:30)
03. Sarathy Korwar - Coolie (Live at Boxout Weekender) (6:32)
04. Sarathy Korwar - Coolie (Edit) (4:05)

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