Respect Plus 09

Autorickshaw’s music lies on the cultural cutting edge, as contemporary jazz and funk easily rub shoulders with the classical and popular music of India. The musical talents of the lead singer Suba Sankaran span a dazzling range: European Renaissance, jazz, Bollywood and Indian classical to vocals, piano and percussion. Daughter of the famed mridangam maestro Trichy Sankaran, Suba’s family could safely be called the first family of Indian Classical music in Canada.

Suba formed Autorickshaw when she met Ed Hanley, a Toronto anglo-Canadian who had studied North Indian-style tabla drumming for 13 years. During past years, the band has become one of the most intriguing acts on the world music and jazz landscapes, garnering 2004 and 2007 Juno nominations for World Music Album of the Year, winning a Canadian Independent Music Award in 2005 and a John Lennon Songwriting Competition Grand Prize in World Music in 2008.

Led by oud player Mehdi Haddab (Ekova, DuOud), this group known for its hi-energy stage performances is made up of a virtuoso bass player Pascal Teillet, a tamer of machines Hermione Frank and a multi-talented singer Bruno. Their first album, Kalashnik Love, offers a plethora of high class guests. The most memorable track, “Galvanize”, originally composed by The Chemical Brothers, is based on a sample of Berber singer Naajat Atabou. Grabbing the boomerang in flight, Mehdi gives the discourse an oriental touch, embracing the anger as his own and inviting Algerian rappers MBS and Spex MC from Asian Dub Foundation. It´s the same idea with the cover of the classic Cure “Killing an Arab” sung by Wattie Delay with an invigorated Rachid Taha playing the role of the Arab on duty. The song was originally inspired by the Albert Camus novel and the argument of the story is skillfully rejuvenated on this album.