Where the ancient meets the modern

Members of the Italian music band Kaláscima chat with DC, ahead of their performance in the city. Here are edited excerpts from the interview.

Your thoughts on presenting a concert here:
We are quite excited about our performance and also we have plans to check out a few places if time permits. Chennai is a city with a lot of historical, artistic and cultural importance. We can’t wait to dance, sing and have fun!

What’s in store for the audience?
We play traditional instruments like the tamburello (frame drum), organetto (Italian diatonic accordion) and zampogna (Italian bagpipe). And we mix our ancient traditional sounds with modern technology, and electronic synthesisers. It’s going to be an interesting musical evening! The music speaks for us. The extraordinary power of rhythm and melody of our traditional music makes wonderful things happen. For us it is exciting to see how the audience react. When this magic happens, it’s wonderful to experience it.

Your strength as musicians:
More than us being band members, we were born and raised in the same village. We’ve known each other since we were 10 years of age, and have grown up together. We are living like a family for a long time. And when we play, we enjoy the music together. Beyond music, there’s emotion! We play every note with passion. Our music is unconventional, atypical and unusual. It’s ancient, played with instruments that have a long history. The bond that we share grows stronger with every concert. We believe in our music and talent, which will make us grow further.

How do you see international collaborations?
We are essentially a live band and  open to experimenting and learning. We’d like to collaborate with other musicians, since it gives us an opportunity to know their style of culture. For instance, the last time we had a chance to play with the legendary pianist, world star Ludovico Einaudi. We got to learn a lot from him.

(After performing worldwide, the band, comprising Luca Buccarella, Massimiliano De Marco, Riccardo Basile, Aldo Iezza, Federico Lagana and Roberto Chiga — are currently here to promote their latest album Psychedelic Trance Tarantella and will perform on April 13 at Alliance Francaise from 7 pm. Entry is free)