Tal Fry’s ‘Rhythm Reimagined’ to premiere at NMACC, Mumbai

Dynamic percussion ensemble Tal Fry’s flagship production, Rhythm Reimagined, will be staged on March 27 at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Mumbai. Much like the name suggests, it hopes to offer a renewed take on Indian rhythms inspired by both Hindustani and Carnatic music. “While our approach and outlook is fresh, we are certainly not intent on reinventing the wheel — we will be presenting six compositions, some original and some inspired by maestros who we have all grown up listening to,” says Manohar Balatchandirane, the band’s mridangam artiste.

The key to Tal Fry’s presentation is to push the envelope on how technology can help Indian music — and specifically percussion —sound better. “We use in-ear monitoring, a technology that eliminates stage noise and brings all us musicians closer on the aural plane. Apart from this, the use of dynamic lighting that complements and supplements our music has become a hallmark feature of our presentations,” shares Varun, the band’s ghatam artiste.

Since its inception in 2024, the band has been fortunate to have found immense success. So far, they have performed at the World Rainforest Music Festival in Malaysia and been contracted by Teamwork Arts, a premiere cultural and festival organising firm, to take their music across the country and the globe. “Our music also enables us to weave a narrative through rhythms, taking audiences from the classical to the folk, from north to south, and from the esoteric to the generic,” says Aadarsh M. Nair, the band’s Carnatic vocalist.

Currently, Tal Fry is keen on working with artistes from other disciplines and forms, such as classical dance forms. “In the past, we have worked with Bharatanatyam dancers such as Manasvini Ramachandran and Madhura Bhrushundi. We are now working with two visual designers, Anandita Narayanan and Jaydeep Tirunagari, who will give our rhythmic forms some visual dimension,” adds Saptak Sharma, the band’s tabla player.

Further, their most significant upcoming engagement is in July this year at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Simultaneously, the band is working on a few Spotify single releases. They also have an all-India tour planned for November 2026 in which they hope to cover several cities, including Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and of course their home turf, Delhi.