It was the afternoon of 30th Dec’16 when I saw events page in the newspaper. As per the newspaper, there was some band “ZAMEE” which was supposed to play at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur in the evening. Although I was clueless as to how the concert would be, but as I had no plans for the evening, H i decided to go for the concert.
Thank God that I went. If I would have not, I would have missed a moment which is worth reliving or going back to “n” number of times.
Thoughts Changed
“ZAMEE” it is not just a band, it is a Indo-Balkan Music project group which consist of talented musicians from India and Slovenia who were able to find out similarities between the Sufi and Slovenian music. By using those similarities to their advantage the band has come out with a music style which is simple majestic.
Here is the list of band member:
Nika Solce – Vocals (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Sabiha Khan – Vocals (Mumbai, India)
Matija Solce – Accordian, Vocals (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Vinayak Netke – Tabla, Percussions (Mumbai, India)
Tilen Stepišnik – Guitars (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Toby Kuhn – Cello (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Žiga Šercer – Percussions (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Okay, talking about the concert
I should say this in the beginning only, no matter how much I praise them for the music which they have crafted it would be less.
The auditorium had a capacity of around 120-150 people. It was not just filled up to the brim it was overflowing. The band played a mixture of Sufi , Macedonian, Hippie tunes which teleport the audience into the mystical lands of music. The band played for an hour or so in which they played a total of 13 tunes. The guy taking care of accordion duties Matija Solce kept the audience busy with his witty statements.
Let me just give you a brief of all those 13 tunes which the band played:
- This first song was an ode to Lord Ganesh. It was wonderful to see how Nika Solce who hails from Slovenia was so beautifully delivering the vocals which were in Sanskrit with Sabiha Khan and same was the case when Sabiha Khan delivered vocals in Slovenian language. It was melodious and treat to ears. It was somewhat of a mind boggling experience. What I mean is the collaboration of a prayer with those Balkan tunes was simply beautiful.
- Next up was a track which was about Love. It was in Slovenian Language. It was a about a poet who wrote it while wandering across the land in search of that lovely face which he couldn’t find.
- Next up was a scintillating Balkanize tune
- “Sayaa” , a love story of light and shadow
- Next up was a track which meant Silver Moon light when translated. It was a story of a sailor who is gone who never came back and the silver here meant the sea. It was mixed with a Marathi song “saimara” I guess that’s what the name was.it was about the person who is long gone and the girl is waiting for his arrival.
- It was an instrumental melody. The original track was composed by a guy from Australia their friend I suppose). The band played the melody with a Balkan touch.
- Slovenian folk song
- Song about mother and daughter merged with pakhi re phaki. The Slovenian tune was concerned with mother’s love for daughter. And the other song was concerned with love of mother from the mother land perspective.
- Swallow – an Slovenian instrumental tune
- Next up was a Macedonian tune. It was about walking around the field when he meets her and the guy is so much mesmerized by the beauty that he ends up with the desire marrying her .The song has been infused with the power of Indian classical.
- It was a track about love in the forest combined with famous RD Burman ji’s melody. The Macedonian tune which is about sweet passion is combined with legendary Bollywood track “janeja dhundta phir raha” , ever imagined what beauty and euphoric moments can’t be created by mixture of cultures. If not then please listen to this if you get a chance.
- A Bulgarian tune (it is all about improvisation)
- Last song was a mixture of “Duma Dum Mast Kalander” with the Balkan tunes and vocals.
It was a WOW experience to see the band playing live. They energized the audience with killer set they played. The audience was all mad and was actually singing and clapping along with the band when the last track played. The band’s vivid imagination magnified the mesmerizing element of the music. It is said that music is a universal language and “ZAMEE” proved it. Just be in the moment, that is what it was required trust me. Although I (I guess all the audience present there) could not understand the lyrics of all the tracks since they were in the Slovenian language but a glimpse at Nika Solce(Vocals, Slovenia) expressions while delivering the vocals i could understand the emotions and feelings which were connected with the song (yes, briefing what the song is about helped, but you know what I mean right?). The band played well in every aspect. The vocal delivery, the coordination, the instrumentation everything was just perfect. It was nothing less than a plethora of high quality music. Musicianship is elegant and cutting edge. Tracks were soothing one which takes you to the wonderland the moment you close your eyes. It was a refreshing experience to see them play live. Not every band is able to leave a mark or register them in your memory when you are listening to them for the first time. This is definitely not one of those bands. Well the first thing which I did was purchase their debut album from bandcamp. So, when you will walk out of the hall after the gig is over, you will be hymning and dancing to the tunes of the band; I can say that without a doubt. If they are playing a gig in your town or you have a chance to attend one of their gig then do not squander the chance. Do go and see them performing live.
“ZAMEE” is all about improvisation and bunch of musicians with superb dexterity with instruments.
Band’s Website – http://www.zamee.info/
ZAMEE Facebook Link – https://www.facebook.com/zameetheband
Hit box to stream or purchase the album :
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