Bhairavi Raman & Nanthesh Sivarajah – Syncretic

Nomen est omen. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, »syncretism« denotes »the combination of different forms of belief or practice«. This rings true, in a figurative sense, for the debut LP by Bhairavi Raman and Nanthesh Sivarajah. Syncretic consists of an instrumental intertwining of heterogeneous ideas to generate something new.

Raman is a violinist trained in both the Western and the Carnatic (i.e. South Indian) tradition. Sivarajah plays the mridangam, a double-sided drum similar to the tabla. Both musicians are Tamils, an ethnic group from South Asia with a total population comparable to Germany’s. Tamil culture includes its own musical tradition, historically independent of Carnatic music. All of these frames of reference are processed and reworked by these diasporic musicians.

Syncretic is a stylistic potpourri that derives its strength from range rather than synthesis alone. This is not meant purely in a historical sense: Raman and Sivarajah, for instance, perform the traditional piece »Thunbam Nergayil« with notable tenderness. In contrast, »Guardian« is a driven original composition built around a stomping pulse. Without sounding like them, Syncretic nevertheless recalls the work of internationally minded jazz musicians such as Jaubi or Arooj Aftab. By combining divergent traditions, Raman and Sivarajah touch on something deeply human.