Prem Joshua and Band in Penang, Malaysia

I am not a regular attendee of musical nites but when an opportunity comes my way I am not the one to ignore it. The sound of dhak beats during pujas, or the tune of musicians playing nadaswaram in temples have soothed my tired nerves in same manner. If you find joy in everyday sounds of life (like the sound of laughter of your loved ones) you will agree that one doesn’t need any big depth of knowledge in music to enjoy it.

Music Festival Penang

At Penang Music Festival 2015, I listened to music from different countries. The beats, rhythms, lyrics all were different, yet they were all uplifting in the same manner.

Prem Joshua and Band

Though I liked listening to all, I would like to dedicate this post specifically to Prem Joshua and his band. When I first heard his name I guessed him to be an Indian, but later I was surprised to know he is a German by birth. So how did he get this Indian name? Curious me, I googled on him to find his roots. There is a lengthy wiki page on him. He came to India at the age of 18 and has since then been associated with Indian music.

Prem Joshua is a multi talented musician. I watched him wide eyed, playing his flute, his saxophone and doing the vocals while playing his sitar all in the span of one song! There standing in front of the stage, trying to photograph him performing I was mesmerized beyond words! How effortlessly he handled the instruments while delivering flawless soothing music! He sang several songs that night; each of them vibrated with an energy that got the audience on its feet, swaying to his tunes.

During the press conference when he was asked why Indian music why not German, he replied he did not know the answer himself. After a pause he said “Probably I was born in India in my previous births!”.

Prem Joshua Live Performance

I have a video clipping of one his songs. It is an ‘amateurish’ attempt, in fact my first one. Please excuse the goof ups particularly in the last part of the song. Watch him how he switches to different musical instruments. It is a 5 minutes video and may take some time to get downloaded completely meanwhile make yourself a cup of tea/coffee while it downloads so that you can listen uninterrupted.As you scroll down you will see the pics of other members of his band.

 

Prem Joshua- Flutes, Sitar, Soprano Sax, Vocals

Prem Joshua and Band

Raul Sengupta- Percussion, Vocals

Prem Joshua and Band Raul Sengupta

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Satgyan Fukuda- Bass, Percussion, Vocals

Chintan Relenberg- Keybords, Percussion, Vocals

The Royale Bintang Hotel Penang in Malaysia
World Music Festival in Penang Malaysia

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