Niladri Kumar...."A complete master piece of Indian Classical Fusion".... Inventor of "ZITAR"

NILADRI KUMAR, the son and disciple of Sitar Maestro Pandit Kartick Kumar, is a maverick musician. He started learning the sitar at the tender age of four and did his first public performance at the age of six. Hailed as one of the more serious young exponents of Indian Classical Music, Niladri's flashes of unparalleled brilliance is a result of years of learning and a lineage of five generation of sitar players. This has led to a profound understanding of the artistic aspects & nuances of diverse gharana styles and a mastery of technical skill.

An orthodox among the traditional and optimistically fearless among the creative, Niladri is a rare instrumentalist with an unique musical repertoire, innovative skills and the dexterity of swift, agile fingers. Be it at his Indian Classical Music Recitals or his World Music Concerts, he can almost immediately mesmerise the orthodox as well as progressive music lovers with an uncanny ability to strike an instant rapport with the audience that transcends all age barriers. He sincerely attempts to infuse interest and respect for Indian Classical Music in the younger generation.

In March 2007, Niladri won the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi's “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” for Instrumental Hindustani Music. “The Sanskriti Award”, “The Jadubhatta Puraskar” and “The MTV IMMIES for the Best Classical/Fusion Instrumental Album” for his album 'IF', are some of the other awards he has won besides having valued titles like “Shanmukha Shree” & “Surmani” to his credit.

Having received rave reviews for his magnificent performances at Concerts the world over, or his immense talent featured in 10 international music albums, Niladri, is considered one of his generations brightest stars with a career that promises to be illustrious and innovative

Electrifying performance.....truely Superb!!!!!



Recently he was invited to perform on a very popular TV show called "Jalsa" on doordarshan. As usual, He played magical and stunned everyone with his impeccable performance. Please check it out the live videos of it.

Playing amazing composition of "Miyan ki Todii" on Sitar....Ultimate!!


Playing beautiful composition of "Bhairavi" on Sitar....Awesome!! Sheer!!


Sitarfunk (ZITAR)

Deeply steeped in tradition through all his growing up years, it was a real eye opener, when during his college days he got exposure to what he calls ‘the new culture’, followed by ‘generation next’ and the music they appreciated. "The attempt to relate to the likings of this generation, literally changed my outlook towards music." says Niladri.

With this new perspective in mind, Niladri brought about the initiative of extending the boundaries of his musical realm. He combined his understanding of diverse Indian musical gharana styles with world music styles, through imaginative experiments.

Niladri truly believes, “Music is meant to touch the soul of the listener and the driving force is to aspire to maintain a fine harmony between tradition and modernity that is in sync with the sensibilities of a global audience.” It was probably this very sentiment and his tremendous creative enthusiasm that led to him crafting a truly zany and zestful sound in the form of a ZITAR. This five stringed instrument, thereafter, helped give wings to Niladri’s flights of artistic expression.

Superb, phenomenal performance of Zitar at HARD ROCK CAFE, Mumbai..on the launch of Shivmani's album "Mahaleela"


Amazing composition and superb animated video from his latest album song called "Priority"



ALBUMS:

An orthodox among the traditional and optimistically fearless among the creative, Niladri is a rare instrumentalist with a unique musical repertoire. His immense talent is featured in innumerable number of albums.

Some of his Indian classical albums are ‘Where Innovation meets Tradition / Together’, ‘Dharohar’, ‘Revelation’ and ‘Saanjh Sur’. Where as ‘IF’ and ‘Sitar Gaze / Chillout Forever’ are some of his Fusion albums along with 10 other international albums. Besides this Niladri is a guest musician on the latest CD ‘Floating Point’ by jazz guitar legend John McLaughlin.

Awesome compositions "Lovers dream" which will surely make you refresh from his album called "Chillout Forever"



another track...."Forever"




FILMWORKS:

He started his Film music career as a musician sometime around 1991/92.

“Now a days the kind of music being used in films is slightly different, therefore it’s really exciting to work with Music Directors who are willing to experiment.” says Niladri, who has enjoyed playing for Laxmikant-Pyarelal, A R Rahman, Anu Malik, Pritam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and many more. Chup Chup ke from Bunty and Babli has a prominent sleeve played by him on the sitar. While Bheeegi Bheegi si from Gangster, Alvida from Life In A Metro or Crazy Kiya Re from Dhoom 2 are accentuated by the distinct sounds of his inimitable zitar renditions.

RECITALS & CONCERTS:

Be it for his Indian Classical music recitals or his World Music Concerts, Niladri displays an uncanny ability to strike an instant rapport with audiences, young and old, with his unique musical repertoire. He has already travelled all over the world performing at numerous prestigious Festivals, Venues and Concert halls. Lately, he has been touring with non other than the legendary Ustad Zakir Hussain's ‘Masters of Percussion’ tour.

Incredible performance!!!!!.....



While tactfully maintaining his busy schedule of concerts, recitals and recordings, Niladri adds ‘zing’ to corporate events of reputed companies.

BANDS & SITARFUNK:

“Fusion music does not follow any guidelines, therefore it gives the artiste great liberty to experiment especially when performing with other talented musicians. Yet, a fusion concert is only truly able to transcend to an all time high, when each member performs the best of his individual, unique talent within the unity and oneness of the band to complement each other and I have been lucky to experience this magic!” Niladri remarks with a twinkle in his eyes.

‘Asia ElectriK’’ - Sivamani, Niladri Kumar and Louis Banks;

‘TaNi’’ - Taufiq Qureshi and Niladri Kumar;

‘SiTARFUNK’ - Niladri Kumar with fiery generation next musicians.

Niladri has the unmistakable Arien trait of being a firebrand, who believes in forging his way through life with daring, initiative and enterprise. Having received so many rave reviews the world over for his unparalleled performances and renditions, Niladri is considered one of his generations brightest stars with a career that promises to be illustrious and innovative. With so many accolades, one can say that this is only the beginning of the journey for Niladri, a person, who is blessed with a legacy and is crafting a talent to versatility.
Content source: www.niladrikumar.com