Ignas Schick & Sina Fakhroddin

Ignaz Schick is a sound artist, turntablist, composer, and visual artist. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, he worked in Berlin, where he became an important part of the young real-time music scene. Based on live electronics he developed an independent electro-acoustic set-up, the “Rotating Surfaces”. Since 2012 he has focussed on realizing concept compositions and experimental radio pieces. Schick works as a festival curator for experimental music and runs the experimental music label Zarek. He tours worldwide, solo and with groups like Perlonex, Splitter Orchester and ILOG, has released numerous albums and worked with internationally renowned artists such as Mwata Bowden, Don Cherry, Sven-Ake Johansson, Charlemagne Palestine, and Martin Tetréault. His numerous residencies include the Composition Residency of the Berlin Senate/Cité des Arts Paris (2016), Global Cultural Exchange Residency for Southeast Asia (Malaysia/Laos/Indonesia/Vietnam, 2017), and Villa Aurora Residency in Los Angeles (2017). In 2020 he received the Work and Research Residency for Composition/Sound Art in Berlin.

Ignaz Schick was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from September to December 2018

Sina Fakhroddin 

Iranian-Kurdish born percussionist Dr.Sina Fakhroddin has mastery over multiple Persian and Middle Eastern percussion instruments including his principal instrument, Tombak, and the Kurdish Daf. Earlier trained under his uncle, Tombak player Saeed Abbasi, his playing embodies numerous styles of maestros such as Bahman Rajabi, Pedram Khavar Zamini and Navid Afghan, as he took guidance from all mentioned maestros. Fakhroddin has lived in India for the past 18 years performing and collaborating with top musicians from throughout India and has shared the stage with artists such as Hansraj Hans. On the other hand, he has collaborated with topmost maestros of Persian music such as Hamid Motebassem, Ardeshir Kamkar and Behdad Babaie. 

He has received his Bachelor, Master and M.Phil degree in Hindustani Classical Music from Delhi university and has also accomplished his PhD. Sina has spoken in seminars, both national and international, on Indian and Iranian music and percussion, the Raaga-Taal system of Indian Classical music and Music therapy and has written many articles and translated several books on Indian music from English to Farsi. He has taught at the Lancers International School, a branch of Cambridge University and also taught as a visiting lecturer in Tehran Art University as well as the music department of Tehran University. 

In 2008 He founded the Viuna Music Ensemble with whom he has toured across the India in the festivals Sufi Darbar, Ruhaniyat, Jahan-e-Khusrau, Jamal-e-Begum-Akhtar and many more. He is the founder of Weme (World Ethnic Music Ensemble) encompassing musicians from different disciples such as Jazz, Indian, Persian classical and Western classical music, these musicians belong to India, Iran, USA, France, and Mexico. He has performed in prestigious festivals in many countries including France, Germany, Switzerland, Russian, Norway, Netherlands, India, South Africa, Iran, Thailand, Singapore and UAE.

Guest Artists: 

Ish S 

Ish S is a composer, sound artist, curator and musician, and his primary fields of interest are sound art and installations, along with electro-acoustic and improvised music. Trained as a classical guitar player, he has produced various sound art installations, albums and composed music for independent short films, plays, performances, Video/ Media Art projects and contemporary dance recitals worldwide. He also curates the 'Sound Reasons Festival' for sound art and experimental electronic music since 2012. His work OCTAGON AND A SQUARE was exhibited at Yokohama Triennial as a part of Episodo 07 Sound Reasons in 2020. In 2018 he received a grant from India Foundation for the Arts.

Ish S also performs and composes under different pseudonyms and projects like – edGeCut, diFfused beats, Ish, Khayali pulao and 4th World Orchestra, he creates, collaborates and produces a wide spectrum of music and sounds ranging from Jazz to classical and from ambient to experimental electronic music. In 2009 he founded the music label called Sound Reasons to promote contemporary and electronic music and have released a number of albums since then.

Mohit Lal

Mohit Lal hails from an illustrious family of dancers and musicians of Rajasthan.

His grandfather, Shri Onkar Lal, was a renowned vocalist of Rajasthan.

His uncle, Pandit Devi Lal, a renowned Tabla player and Kathak dancer, while his father late Pandit Durga Lal was the legendary kathak dancer of the Jaipur Gharana. He was also an accomplished pakhawaj player, having learnt the art of pakhawaj playing from Pt. Puroshattam Das of the Nathdwara Temple. 

Mohit was initiated in the art of tabla playing at the tender age of seven, by none other than his own father. Later, he came under the guidance of Ustad Chaand Khan of the Delhi gharana and Sri Fateh Singh Gangani of the Jaipur gharana. 

Later he came under the tutelage of Late Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan and Ustad Akram Khan of the Ajrada gharana. 

He has thus imbibed the baj (playing style) of the Delhi gharana which is the oldest and known for its clarity of sound, and the Ajrada gharana that is famous for its complicated bol-patterns.

Jaipur being a famous dance gharana where tabla is a vital accompanying instrument, he learnt from his father Pt. Durga Lal, and then from Guru Fateh Singh Gangani, both of the Jaipur gharana, the aesthetics of accompaniment, where the percussionist not only supports, but also enhances the performance, while retaining his own identity and style.

Mohit is a part of the fusion band Advaita as tabla player and percussionist.

With Advaita he was featured on Mtv Coke Studio,Mtv Unplugged,The Dewarits,Sound Trek On fox channel.

Mohit has also collaborated with Hungarian,Austrian,Polish,Iranian and African Musicians.

Nikhil Rufus Raj

An experienced musician, composer and an award-winning bassist, Nikhil Rufus Raj’s musical endeavours have seen him play with bands of varied genres like Superfuzz, Joint Family, Another Vertigo Rush, Indigo Children, Skyharbor and Faridkot. His versatility in adapting to different genres has been instrumental in his success.

Nikhil’s musical journey started with him playing guitar & bass in church when he was 14 years old. He then formed a band in his school called Copperstoned and participated in various school music competitions. He played his first professional show at the age of 16 at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) on their invitation. 

Over the years, he's composed background music for televisions shows like Gumrah, and worked on advertisements for Volkswagen and Spicejet.

With all this expertise and experience, Nikhil's past studio projects have been extensive, working with the Netherlands Embassy in New Delhi, Seagram’s 100 Pipers Pure Music Events, Ogilvy, Mudnwater Films, Dentsu and Magic Hour Films. His performances are varied, which include live and studio sessions for bands such as Them Clones, Half Step Down and Cyanide, to solo artists such as Yo Yo Honey Singh, across India and abroad. He has also been adjudged Best Bassist at the Hornbill National Rock Competition, 2012, for Indigo Children, and at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards, 2013, for Skyharbor.

The list of bands/acts Nikhil's performed with.

1. Superfuzz

2. Indigo Children

3. Another Vertigo Rush

4. Skyharbor

5. Faridkot

6. Them Clones

7. Tearcube

8. Joint Family

9. Half Step Down

10. Cyanide

11. Karajimo

12. The Circus

13. Oidua

14. ‎Arjun Verman

15. ‎Deveshi Sahgal

16. ‎Aditi Singh Sharma

17. ‎Apeksha Dandekar

18. ‎Suryaveer Hooja

19. ‎Honey Singh

20. ‎The Underknowns

21. ‎Rabbi Shergill

22. Sharvi Yadav

23. The Voice India

24. Siddharth Mahadevan

25. Donn Bhat

26. VnA

27. Nandan Borker Collective

28. Social Karaoke

29. Raman Negi

30. Seedhe Maut