Chennai-based record label EarthSync is giving an unusual twist to folk music from around the world. iTalk chatted up co-founder, Sonya Mazumdar on their rare finds

Fusing Sufi singers from Nagore, Tamil Nadu with Middle Eastern percussion, sprucing up vocals by traditional singers from Myanmar using a soothing arrangement, even mixing electronica with folk in their latest project, EarthSync has managed to make folk music saleable without dipping into the "fusion" market.
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The essence of EarthSync's music remains raw, with a naked representation of the soul of folk artists.

Laya Project's live performance

It was founded in 2005 by Sonya Mazumdar and Yotam Agam with the Laya Project as their first production, which captured a musical journey of the Tsunami-affected communities in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar and India and was distributed as a double CD + DVD pack.
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The aim was to provide support to folk artists, their culture and the beauty of the lands without indulging in charity.

What kind of folk and traditional music were you looking at promoting when you started?
Our idea was to identify and provide global recognition to music forms that were popular locally, but not confined to boundaries of these lands. Laya Project was our first production, for which we travelled to six countries to record music among local communities, since we believed the Tsunami was affecting not only those in lands it had ravaged, but cultures here too.