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Sarathy Korwar, King’s Place London
Exhilarating eclecticism from Korwar and co
BRILLIANT PERCUSSIONIST: Sarathy Korwar [Monika S Jakubowska/Kings Place]

SARATHY KORWAR is relieved to be back in front of an audience. “It’s more fun than those livestreams,” he admits. “They’re terrible.”

More fun for the audience, too. Although it’s tempting to view Korwar as a band leader best suited to the recording studio, to see him on stage is to appreciate a different side to his complex, eclectic art which draws mainly on jazz and Indian classical music but also incorporates elements of hip-hop, electronic music and more.

The subtleties of Korwar’s politics come across that much clearer in a live setting and not just because on this occasion he has a “Free Palestine” message projected onto a speaker at the front. With the angry tones of vocalist Zia Ahmed in support, it’s possible to get a fuller insight into Korwar’s thoughts on belonging and disaffection, on resisting the temptation to fit people into boxes and being able to assert that “home is where the heart is.”

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