Video: Kiran Ahluwalia: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert with Louis Simao

For the second consecutive year, NPR teamed up with globalFEST in January 2021 for an online music festival called  Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: three nights, nine bands, and a world of musical traditions hosted by African pop star Angélique Kidjo. The sets from the festival are included as individual Tiny Desk (home) concerts.

Excerpts from Bob Boilen’s article: Kiran Ahluwalia’s original compositions embody the essence of Indian music while embracing influences from Mali and Western blues, rock, R&B and jazz. With her six-piece group of electric guitar, accordion, organ, tabla, bass and drum kit, Ahluwalia creates boundary-breaking songs that invite us to explore the human condition, transcending the self by losing ourselves in a trance of groove and melody. The two-time JUNO and Songlines award winner’s open-hearted vocals have positioned her as one of global music’s most compelling cross-pollinators. –globalFEST”

Set List
* “Dil”
* “Rabba Ru”
* “We Sinful Women”

Musicians
* Kiran Ahluwalia: vocals
* Rez Abbasi: electric guitar
* Louis Simao: accordion, organ
* Davide DiRenzo: drums
* Ravi Naimpally: tabla
* Rich Brown: electric bass

From the age of seven, Kiran Ahluwalia has approached music differently. Born and raised in India before immigrating to Canada, Ahluwalia surrounded herself with many different styles of Indian music. But it wasn’t until after her move to Toronto that she began embracing her musical heritage while also exploring Western blues, rock, R&B, jazz, and the sounds of Mali, West Africa. “When you take different styles and merge them together, and you don’t want a simple cut and paste, then you’re really developing a new hybrid genre,” Ahluwalia says. “It’s incredibly invigorating when I feel a connection in expressions from different cultures and then figure out ways to connect them seamlessly in my music.

Excerpts from Louis Simao website: Award winning, Toronto-based accordionist/musician Louis Simão has been composing, performing and recording as a multi-instrumentalist in a variety of genres for twenty years. 2016 marked the release of his much-anticipated solo album, “A LUZ” (The Light) – a collection of Simão’s own compositions and arrangements. Joined by the best cross-genre musicians Toronto has to offer, Simão takes the listener on a journey through the sounds of the Portuguese-speaking world as experienced through the life of this first-generation Canadian son of Portuguese immigrants.

His cultural background combined with his jazz sensibility and chamber music compositional style come together to create a voice that is at once universal while remaining deeply personal. Co-produced by Luis (Luisito) Orbegoso and recorded by John Bailey at The Drive Shed, Simão’s music easily flows from samba to folkloric Portuguese music, to funk-based grooves and lush string and woodwind arrangements. Accompanying Simão on stage for this new solo project will be Luis (Luisito) Orbegoso, David French, Rich Brown, Bill McBirnie & Marito Marques.

As a sideman, Louis Simão has performed and/or recorded with Nelly Furtado, Dominic Mancuso (2010 JUNO winner), Michael Occhipinti’s Sicilian Jazz Project (2009 JUNO nominee), Kiran Ahluwalia, Luis Mario Ochoa, Justin Rutledge, Guinga, Henrique Cazes, Patricia Cano, Daniela Nardi’s Espresso Manifesto, Sophie Milman, Bill McBirnie, “MARIA SEVERA” at The Shaw Festival, Tapestry New Opera Works, Eliana Cuevas, Aline Morales and Luanda Jones. Described as “utterly unique” (CBC Radio One), he was the winner of the 2007 USA Songwriting Competition in the World Music category with his song, “Fado Torto”. Simão has opened for Cesaria Evora and Celso Machado, shared a night with Brazilian reggae stars Chico Cesar and Rita Ribeiro, toured Portugal (2006); and in 2008, was the invited artist of the Portuguese Consulate and the Instituto Camões at the Festival de Printemps in Azzemour, Morocco. In 2017, he was nominated in 3 separate categories for the 2017 International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) and won Song of the Year with his composition “Três Anos” (Simão/Petrilli). In November of 2017, he was named World Solo Artist of the Year by the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and in the Spring of 2018 was nominated by the Independent Music Awards for World Beat Artist of the Year. Simão’s diverse skills also have him in demand as a music educator and clinician as well as a panel juror for the Canada Council for the Arts and FACTOR.“A LUZ” is made possible through the generous support of the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and through the Canada Council for the Arts.

Credits
* Creative direction and production: Tina Wroblewski
* Audio: Reza Moghaddas
* Camera: Golan Sahraei
* Editing: Edgar Maldonado
* Lighting: Samira Banihashem
* Special thanks: Canada Council for the Arts, Danielle Devlin, Ian Menzies

Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST
Tiny Desk Team
Producer: Bob Boilen
Video Producer: Maia Stern
Audio Mixing: Josh Rogosin
Tiny Production Team: Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
globalFEST Artistic Team
Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin
2022 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin, Gabrielle Davenport
globalFEST Production Team
Event Producer: Ian Thake
Producer: THE OFFICE performing arts + film*
Video Producer: Karim Tabbaa

Special Thanks
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, JanArtsNYC, Valerie French (social media), Yuri Kwon of Pitch Perfect PR (publicity), Tamizdat (legal services) and Duane Morris (legal services)

For further information:
Beverly Kreller
Publicist | SPEAK Music
bev@speak-music.com 
416-922-3620

*THE OFFICE performing arts + film consists of Rachel Chanoff, Laurie Cearley, Olli Chanoff, Erica Zielinski, Nadine Goellner, Lynn Koek, Noah Bashevkin, Catherine DeGennaro, Gabrielle Davenport, Chloe Golding, Kyla Gardner, Tess Peppis, Zion Jackson, Scout Eisenberg and Jose Alvarado