Presented by South Asia Institute with Intercultural Music Production

What happens when Indian sarod and tabla meet Middle Eastern oud and darbuka?

EMME

East Meets Middle East (EMME) is a musical collective across continents celebrating the rich traditions of the Middle East and South Asia that brings together related string instruments such as the Middle Eastern oud and the Indian sarod, and percussion instruments like the Indian tabla and Middle Eastern darbuka and riq. The group's message is to inform people, through music, about the similarities and distinctions between Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures, which are all too often mistaken for each other in media, politics, and Western society.

From Kolkata, India, Subrata Bhattacharya (tabla) and Abhisek Lahiri (sarod) collaborate with Ronnie Malley (oud) and George Lawler (percussion) in Chicago, IL to create a cross-cultural palette of improvisations and original compositions. EMME transcends boundaries creating musical dialogue that fluidly moves through raga and maqam, tala and iqa- the music theories and rhythms found in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Their debut album which is a result of a live rehearsal from a first time encounter between these artists- the recording and collaboration highlight how arts can be an accessible means to foster more understanding about these cultures.