This weekend, in Delhi, the Sounds Of SAARC has been taking place. India is currently the chair country for the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation and therefore decided to hold a 10-day cultural festival, celebrating the heritage of each of the 8 member countries. The kick-start to this extravaganza was a music festival which took place over the last 3 days. It featured some of the best contemporary bands from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, The Maldives, Nepal and, of course, India.

I went along on Friday and Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The highlights for me were Soulmate, Strings and Indian Ocean.

Soulmate, as the name suggests, are a group who play various kinds of blues and soul music. Sometimes their tunes are a little upbeat and funky and sometimes they are completely laid back and, well, bluesy. The female vocalist had a voice as strong as Aretha Franklin’s with the youthfulness and vitality of McFly. Complementing this was the lead guitarist who played catchy intricate solos in each song.

Strings are a band from Pakistan who I had never heard of, but most Indians under 30 who I have spoken to since rave about them. Their music is kind of catchy Bryan Adam-esque mid 90-style riffs. However, I prefer them much more than Adams and their tunes seem as relevant today as they were 10 years ago.

Indian Ocean headlined the stage on Saturday night. It is difficult to categorise their brand of music as it is unique. They blend contemporary tunes with Indian classical folk. Their haunting melodies and rich voices make the music atmospheric and uplifting. And the icing on the cake is the variety of traditional drums they use to great effect, none of which I know the name of. One of their most popular tunes - Bandeh - is embedded below if you want to click and listen. I suggest you lie down and close your eyes if you want to make the most of it.

What stood out for me about all the bands at this festival was how much they enjoyed playing the music. Throughout all the performances you could tell the band members were genuinely having a good time. A great deal of vibrance was created through their sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment and this added to the music. It also rubbed off on the crowd and added to the atmosphere.

A big well done to the Delhi SAARC committee or whoever organised this event. Let’s have more like it in the future. I’m off to check out the food part of the festival now.

Posted by Andy on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 11:55 am.