Tonight's performance by Ajay Kapur and Shamik Dynamik will give Mumbai's music lovers their first taste of the future of Electronic music

By blending, Ajay means literally modifying a sitar and fitting it with a micro chip, a humbucker pick up and a USB jack. So, when Ajay plays the instrument, sensors in the microchip control the sound based on the gestures of the artist. Sounds like a lot of geek-talk? To us, tonight's gig sounds quite exciting.

While Ajay will bring in his modified sitar, Shamik Dynamik, a beatboxer/vocalist, will provide vocal percussions to create upbeat dance music the city has never heard before. "We will create a completely experimental sound. Through our music, we essentially fuse traditional Indian artistic practices with modern art. No one brings in a traditional instrument with a USB jack on it. We are breaking boundaries," says Ajay, who is the director of the Music Technology program at the California Institute of the Arts.

Ajay and Shamik represent Karmetik, a US-based group of interdisciplinary researchers who work between the boundaries of art and technology. The group specialises in creating robotic musical instruments.

Tonight's gig is a precursor to the group's flagship project called the Machine Orchestra, which is a collaboration between seven custom-built robotic musical instruments and human performers. "We like to use the analogy with goddess Saraswati who plays several instruments at the same time.

We're trying to make that happen in the modern age. The idea is to build systems that can extend a human performance," explains Ajay. This promises to be a performance you can brag about to your friends for a long time to come.u00a0
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On Tonight, 9 pm onwards at Blue Frog, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel. Call 61586158 Entry Rs 500 per person (after 9 pm)

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