Stracho Temelkovski Quartet (Ft. Ashraf Sharif Khan on Sitar) as well as RBMA alumnus Tollcrane to play the gig in Karachi on October 29.
Producing a good, engaging live music show is an accomplishment in itself. And Salt Arts has made it something of an art-form that remains unmatchable at home so far. The live music production company that calls Karachi home is having a rollicking, experimental year. Not only did Salt Arts hit the landmark of 75 shows just recently, they introduced an interdisciplinary residency program called Salt Box (earlier this year) and took the selected residents to Hunza.
In between doing shows and following the theme – Future is Female – in 2019, they went on to drop the date for Super Salt 2019 – after a smashing Super Salts 2018 gig ft. MHB, Khumariyaan, Mughal-e-Funk and SomeWhatSuper held last year.
While the SuperSalt artists have not been released, the date is December 14, 2019.
Following all that is the upcoming first edition of Salt Flights 001, described by Salt Arts as “a premium, international, collaborative and performance platform, for musicians in Pakistan, and the world.”
Curated and produced by Salt Arts, the first edition will feature Balkan World Jazz featuring ‘Macedonian-French-Pakistani quartet led by Stracho Temelkovski Quartet (Ft. Ashraf Sharif Khan on Sitar)’ as well as Karachi-based homeboy, an RBMA alumnus Tollcrane – who has several EPs to his credit as well and plays acid, dance, techno and continues to be an exciting electronic artist.
Salt Flights 001 is scheduled to take place on October 29 in Karachi with further details about the venue and tickets available on Salt Arts social media accounts and since the box office for the gig is now open, finding a ticket as soon as possible will not be a bad idea. To catch a glimpse of what this quartet sounds like – watch the videos uploaded by Salt Arts on Instagram and you might find the the beauty of this music and how it can fill up your senses. This is Salt Arts bringing global music to an audience that yearns for it. Few can match their tenacity or the aesthetic with which they design each show. As for the international angle, since coming into existence in 2015, Salt Arts has pulled off several international collaborations. Among them is a show with Layla Kardan from the UAE; FDVM’s opening Southasia tour in Karachi; RPM: Audio Visual Centrepiece for the Alchemy Festival, Southbank Centre, London, UK; Rudoh at Southbank Centre, London, UK and a tour of The Southasia Ensemble featuring Hamza Akram Qawwal at the Birmingham Weekender Festival, circa 2016.
Before Salt Flights 001, with the support of SPEDIDAM, the French Institute In Paris and Grenoble City Council, takes off, there is another gig coming up from Salt Arts on October 23 featuring Band 777.
It is their 33rd Salt Soiree, more intimate in nature, and has sold out. So, get your Salt Flights 001 tickets – some even up for discounted rates – before they sell out. And they will.
Salt Arts has built itself from the ground up with a reputation for pulling off miraculous shows, both sonically and visually through a vision that is both organic in nature and holds collaborating with artists, organisations, and ideas in high esteem.
–Salt Arts photos courtesy of Salt Arts
–Tollcrane image by the author
