Kanika Pandey, Arun Ramamurthy, Samir Chaterjee – Ragas Live Festival 2013 #2 (Podcast 60)
Kanika Pandey, (Vocals) Arun Ramamurthy (Violin) Samir Chaterjee (tabla) The second set of the Ragas Live Festival 2013 featured vocalist Kanika Pandey. Kanika belongs to the new generation of musicians who believe in developing and evolving a personalized musical idiom while still maintaining the authenticity of the Hindustani classical music. Kanika has a rich and mellifluous voice and a very eloquent style of singing. She carries with her a rare artistic blend of Kirana and Banares gharana. Her training is very evident in her shruti shuddha swara, gradual unfolding and development of the raga, combining the poetry and its expression into singing. Her music emerges not only from her own virtuosity and versatility as a performer but also from her intellectual and diligent eclecticism as a student of Hindustani classical music. Besides maintaining the technical aspects, Kanika also gives a lot of focus on the aesthetics and the mystical/spiritual aspect of Hindustani music, thus resulting in a unique style that is technically fine and yet very soulful and aesthetically appealing.