Sarathy Korwar

“SARATHY INSTANTLY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION WHEN HE SAID HE WANTED TO MAKE AN ALBUM THAT EMBRACED BOTH INDIAN FOLK MUSIC AND JAZZ - TWO WORLDS THAT HAVE HAD A BIG INFLUENCE ON ME. HIS ALBUM SUCCEEDS IN BRINGING THESE THINGS TOGETHER IN AN ELEGANT WAY, BUT IT’S HIS OWN STYLE AND IDEAS THAT COME THROUGH THE MOST IN THE MUSIC. REFRESHINGLY DIFFERENT, THIS IS A DEEP AND POWERFUL LISTENING EXPERIENCE.”

- FOUR TET

“AN EXCEPTIONAL DEBUT BY THIS MULTI-PERCUSSIVE ARTIST FUSING JAZZ, ELECTRONIC AND INDIAN HARMONICS.”

- GILLES PETERSON

**** CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE MONTH

- THE GUARDIAN (MY EAST IS YOUR WEST

**** A SPIRITUAL MASTERCLASS

- MOJO RISING (MY EAST IS YOUR WEST (MY EAST IS YOUR WEST)

“ONE OF THE BEST THINGS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PLAY ON THE RADIO FOR A VERY LONG TIME”

- GILLES PETERSON

"PLAY IT LOUD. PLAY IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. NOT ONLY IS THIS THE BEST SONG OF 2019 SO FAR. I THINK IT MIGHT ALSO BE THE MOST 2019 SONG OF 2019”

- PETE PAPHIDES

"KORWAR TAKES IN THE POLITICAL AND RADICAL HISTORY OF JAZZ AS A VOICE OF THE DISENFRANCHISED, AND KORWAR APPLIES IT TO THE INDIAN DIASPORA EXPERIENCE IN CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN”

- THE VINYL FACTORY

“HIS RHYTHMICALLY INTENSE, ENTRANCING VISION ADDS A WHOLE NEW SPIN TO THE INDO-JAZZ CONTINUUM"

- 5/5 MOJO

“IT’S A THRILLING MIX OF INDIAN INSTRUMENTATION AND JAZZ, FEATURING SEVERAL ASIAN MCS AND POETS WHO ADDRESS THEMES SUCH AS LAZY STEREOTYPING AND THE NEED TO CHANGE THE EAST-WEST NARRATIVE. IT’S A TIMELY SOUNDTRACK TO THESE DIVISIVE TIMES”

- SONGLINES

"SUPERB... AN ADRENALISED, PERCUSSION-LED, CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING THRILL RIDE"

- ELECTRONIC SOUND

Korwar has established himself as one of the most original and compelling voices in the UK jazz scene, leading the UPAJ Collective - a loose band of South Asian jazz and Indian classical musicians brought together through a love of collaboration and improvisation who set up a residency at the Jazz Café in London. Korwar has collaborated with the likes of Shabaka Hutchings (The Comet Is Coming), clarinettist Arun Ghosh and producer Hieroglyphic Being, as well as groups Penya and Ill Considered. He has toured with Kamasi Washington, Yussef Kamaal and Moses Boyd.

Korwar’s daring debut album, Day To Day, recorded with the support of the Steve Reid Foundation, was released by Ninja Tune in 2016. The album fused traditional folk music recorded with the Sidi community in India (combining East African, Sufi and Indian influences) with contemporary jazz and electronics.

Korwar released his second studio album, More Arriving, through The Leaf Label in July 2019. With this latest release, Korwar blasts out his own vibrant, pluralistic narrative for the world to hear. This is not necessarily a record of unity; it is an honest reflection of Korwar’s experience of being an Indian in Britain, and as such is a leap forward from his previous releases, incorporating rappers from Mumbai and New Delhi, spoken word and his own Indian classical and jazz performances. More Arriving is a record born of confrontation; one for our confrontational times.

‘More Arriving’ was voted MOJO Magazines Jazz Album of the year.