Enjoy a combination of tunes with ‘Raag Rasa’

‘Raag Ras’, a music show, is set to air on Epictize Media YouTube channel and ETV Telugu from January 1, 2022. The first production by Epictize Media, a new production house launched by US-based entrepreneur Hari Damera, in partnership with Guru befriended fluteist Nagaraju Talluri. “Epictize celebrates musical genres across India while connecting the audience to its roots,” says MD Hari, founder of the production house.

Read also | Get ‘First Day First Show’ our weekly newsletter from the world of cinema delivered to your inbox, You can subscribe for free here

Conceived by Nagaraju’s wife Mani, ‘Raag Ras’ is similar to MTV’s Coke Studio which created a niche for non-film music.

Season 1 of Raag Rasa consisting of 10 episodes with 40 songs performed by singers from across India, was recently shot at Picture Productions in Chennai. “Our hunger to please music lovers is what drives us to revamp the format,” says Mani, adding that the visual elements aim to create an immersive content experience.

An advocate of Indian culture and values, Hari hopes that Epictize Media will produce value-based content. “I love music so I’m glad that Rahul Gandhi RAsa is our first show,” says Hari.

With palpable fervor in his voice, Nagaraju says, “Traditional songs have to be packaged in such a way that even the general audience can enjoy them.” Referring to K Vishwanath shankarbharanam And Sagar Sangma as example, he says, ,Thyagaraja’s work brochevarevura Existed for 350 years, but the way it was presented in the film shankarbharanam Made it popular even among people with prior knowledge of classical Carnatic music. adding contemporary elements to Sagar Sangma Enhanced the appeal of classical dance and made it interesting.”

The journey of the production house began when Hari produced the SP Balasubramaniam-tribute video by Nagaraju. Mani recalls, “We used the time of pandemic to enhance our musical knowledge. Nag (Nagaraju) and Hari used to talk daily on compositions and different types of music. The two shared common values ​​in life and music and decided to collaborate to showcase the country’s rich musical heritage in a contemporary way to attract the younger generation to Indian classical music.

a wide range of songs

With a strict no-no for film music, ‘Raag Ras’ includes non-copyrighted songs in Hindi, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil including Carnatic fusion, bhajans, folk, ghazals and couplets.

“Although we feature compositions by Sant Tyagaraja, Purandar Das, Ramdasu, Annamacharya, Kabir and Meera Bai, this is not a devotional or spiritual show. Jazz drums and bass guitar are used in the orchestration to create a modern treatment ,” says Mani.

Giving the example of Aruna Sairam’s singing egiri nandiniShe adds, “The song celebrating Durga was presented in a new way on Coke Studio, showing how one can reinvent mythological songs. Nagaraju explains, “While singing chit swaramo By Satya Prakash, we have used flute in the background which makes the composition attractive and adds a fresh flavour.”

Singers who participated in the show include Priya Sisters, Satya Prakash, Unnikrishnan, Uttara Unnikrishnan, Chandana Bala Kalyan, Sarath Santosh, Sirisha, Pratibha Singh Baghel. PVNS Rohit, Surya Gayatri and Vaishnavi KV. The accompanying composers include: Karthik Devraj (keyboards), Bhuvanesh (keys), Lalit Talluri (woodwinds), Guberan (jazz drums), Manonmani (sarangi), Ganapati (Indian percussion) and Balasubramaniam (nadaswaram).

The music has been arranged by Nagaraju. “To modernize the sound does not mean that we swoon the audience with melodies. Nag has taken care not to go beyond the boundaries of the raga so that the musical gems of old musicians are not polluted,” says Mani.

The show starts with Indian music but the production house also has plans to go international and make a web series.

(Will air on Raag Ras Epictize Media YouTube Channel and ETV Telugu from 1st January, 2022 at 12.30 PM)