Waves of Gravity with CultureHub on Thursday 21 October 2021
Channel: HowlRound Theatre Commons
Date: 2021-10-22

La MaMa and CultureHub present Waves of Gravity livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 21 October and Friday 22 October 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Waves of Gravity is a solo multimedia performance from sitarist, overtone singer, percussionist and composer, Neel Murgai, directed by Michole Biancosino with video and art design by Seema Pandya. Through raga, polyphonic overtone singing, experimental music, improvisational flights of fancy, and spoken word, Neel creates a psychedelic universe of sight and sound. Throughout the pandemic, Neel has developed his audio/visual looping practice and began incorporating animations by Seema Lisa Pandya, which he has performed as livestream concerts. This performance will mark the first time the artists will share the work with an in-person audience.

A small audience will be welcomed into the CultureHub New York studio to watch Waves of Gravity.

Waves of Gravity is presented by CultureHub and is supported by a City Artist Corps Grant.

Neel Murgai (composer, performer, writer, live audio and video manipulations) is a sitarist, overtone singer, daf player, composer and teacher from Brooklyn, NY. He is the artistic director of the South Asian music collective, Brooklyn Raga Massive. Neel has studied sitar for twenty-five years, currently with his guru Pundit Krishna Bhatt. Overtone singing Neel learned from Batuvshin of the Buriyat performance group Uragsha and from Timothy Hill of the Harmonic Choir. He is a graduate of Goddard College's MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts program. His first album with Neel Murgai Ensemble was released on Innova Records in 2010. Neel has performed around the world with numerous artists from varying disciplines including, Bill T. Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Wyclef Jean, Andre DeShields, Karsh Kale, Vijay Iyer, Adam Rudolph, Daniel Bernard Romain, Dana Leong, Ellen Stewart, Laraaji, Yuerba Buena, Baba Israel, Raz Mesinai, Mission on Mars, Akim Funk Buddha, Loren Conners, Suzanne Langile, Louis Bellogenis and Cosmo Vinyl. He has performed at venues ranging from the Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center to Late Night with David Letterman to jazz clubs such as the Blue Note and at festivals around the United States. Neel’s theatre and dance credits include playing music for Bill T. Jones’ Blind Date, Disney’s musical theatre adaptation of The Jungle Book directed by Mary Zimmerman, and composing and performing music for Bacchae 2.1 directed by Michole Biancosino. Neel has also composed music for many film and TV projects including the features, The Yes Men Fix the World, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and A Decent Arrangement starring Shabana Azmi. For more information: www.neelmurgai.com



https://howlround.com/happenings/livestreaming-performance-waves-gravity