MIDIval PunditZ

Since their Six Degrees Records debut in 2002, the MIDIval PunditZthe first Indian electronica band to hit the international scenehas ushered in a new era of possibilities for the sound of 21st-century India. Their unique and expansive artistic vision marries the soulful elegance of South Asia's extraordinarily rich traditional and classical music heritage with the exuberance and limitless potential of modern Western electronic music.Listeners around the world have embraced their culture-crossing expressions with huge enthusiasm, and their audience is growing rapidly: one of the tracks from their first, eponymous album, Fabric, was used on the soundtrack to Mira Nair's hit film Monsoon Wedding. Now, with their newest Six Degrees release, Midival Times, the duo of Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj who work as producers, remixers, and club impresarios as well as live artistsdocument the musical, emotional, and intellectual journey of the past three years.While many fans originally came to know the PunditZ through their work in Tabla Beat Science (alongside Karsh Kale, Bill Laswell, Gigi, Ustad Sultan Khan and Zakir Hussein), it was through the pair's signature, live "Cyber Mehfil" events that their aesthetic vision developed. This sensibility remains the cornerstone of their work, the two say. The Urdu word mehfil means people gathering to share art, whether it's music, poetry, or dance. At the MIDIval PunditZ' events, this beloved traditional concept finds new expression in a marriage of time-honored sounds and electronic dance music in an atmosphere that sates all the senses with custom visuals, flowers, and incense.