RadioandMusic
| 25 Nov 2024
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Jodhpur Flamenco & Gypsy Festival 2015 returns with a mÚlange of soulful melodies and eclectic renditions

MUMBAI: Jodhpur Flamenco & Gypsy Festival 2015 returns with a mélange of eclectic renditions and soulful melodies in a resplendent celebration of awe-inspiring gypsy culture.

Between the 3rd and 5th of April 2015, The Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy festival comes back to the city of Jodhpur with its second edition that will bring together world-renowned musicians playing together in the prestigious and historic Mehrangarh Fort.

This year, myriad of performers will showcase the evolution of Flamenco and Gypsy tradition, and will also play new and progressive music written in collaboration especially for the Festival. This synthesis of Flamenco and Rajasthani music honours the gypsy history of the region while breaking musical boundaries, thus creating an exciting and unique musical festival that adds to the progression of the gypsy tradition.

While the first edition of Jodhpur Flamenco & Gypsy Festival had artists performing only from Spain, the second edition will feature artists from Spain, Italy & Turkey. The focus this year is to bring the performers or rather gypsies from around the world who excel in flamenco on a common stage. With live music, the festival will create a fusion of melodies that will have the essence of the gypsy culture of Rajasthan in its core vibrancy.

With an idea to create and perform something new every year in collaboration with the Rajasthani gypsies, the three days of musical magic will feature performances from across the world including Chano Dominguez, Javier Colina, Daniel Navarro, Karen Lugo and Augustin Carbonell "Bola", amongst others.

A little known fact of Gypsy culture is that it traces its roots in Rajasthan. These peoples migrated away from the region and their expression is often associated with other geographies. The Jodhpur Flamenco & Gypsy Festival honours the Rajasthani roots of this culture, inviting globally respected gypsy musicians and dancers from around the world to make music together, at once engaging with the locations rich past while opening the door to a new musical sound. Last year the results were mesmerizing, and the second edition will add on the energy generated putting on an exciting and revolutionary festival.

Building upon the successes of the first edition hosted at the beautiful Mehrangarh Fort, this year’s festival will seek to draw attention to the often-overlooked fact that the root of the gypsy culture originated in India. This year the festival will also endeavor creating a platform to work with a new sound, adding to the musical development of gypsy music through the collaboration of world-renowned musicians and dancers.

In an effort to preserve the local Rajasthani music and give them an opportunity to interact with well known artists from different countries, the festival will create a collaborative environment that seeks upon composing new music for the festival.

Last year the Jodhpur Flamenco & Gypsy Festival stunned people with fresh performances that came from the combination of Rajasthani folk music and Spanish Flamenco. 25 Rajasthani and 19 international artists mesmerized the audience during enchanted evenings that were followed by gala dinners & after-parties. The second edition will build upon the high standard, and take the legacy forward by adding an energizing twist by inviting young budding talent to play with established artists to foster a greater experimental atmosphere. All set to flourish in 2015, the JFG festival is a platform to honor the past while experimentally synthesizing sounds that create an enviable paradigm for an exciting future of Gypsy music.