Coming together of cultures

Singer MD Pallavi and German musician Andi Otto will presents songs from their LP, Songs For Broken Ships

Singer MD Pallavi has collaborated with German cellist and electronic musician Andi Otto. The duo has released an LP titled Songs For Broken Ships, which has songs in Kannada. The artistes will present these songs on November 18 in Bengaluru.

Songs For Broken Ships was also nominated for the German record Critics Award 2023. It features Pallavi’s vocals and Andi’s electronic music. The singer speaks to MetroPlus amidst her rehearsals from Max Mueller Bhavan, which, she says has generously provided rehearsal space. “The concert will be an improvisation of our years of work with traces of Indian classical music and a fusion of two cultures coming together.”

Pallavi is a popular playback singer and a winner of the Karnataka State Film Award in the Best Playback Singer category for the song ‘Nodayya Kwate Lingave’ from the Kannada film Duniya.

Andi, Pallavi says, is an electronic musician, composer and music producer from Germany. “We have been collaborating for the past seven years. Our first released work was titled Bangalore Whispers. This track has been doing well and even garnered attention of music patrons from across the world, specifically from Brazil, Japan and Germany. Last year we released Songs For Broken Ships, which has nine tracks as a vinyl.”

The songs are in Kannada, Pallavi says and are available across the globe. “For the show in Bengaluru, we will present songs from our earlier collaborations. The manner in which Andi plays his cello, makes it visual music too.”

The grammar is all from Hindustani which is used for Kannada poetry, says Pallavi, who has trained in Hindustani classical music. “I believe it falls into an Indian aesthetic structure with a few elements from Carnatic music, yet the fusion does not come across as a creation from just the surface level, but a blend of elements from two vast cultures and music styles in a seamless and organic manner.

Constantly on the lookout for collaborative works, Pallavi says she admires Andi’s work, passion for music and the manner in which he creates it. “Working with him has been an enriching experience.”