Performances by the Karthik Mani India Ensemble are more than concerts; they are a captivating rhythmic merging of tradition and innovation. The ensemble offers a fascinating musical experience, the roots of classical Indian music juxtaposed with today’s creative possibilities. The ensemble members play instruments such as the mridangam, a classic Indian hand drum, the “jaw harp” morsing, the Indian clay drum ghatam and the tabla hand drums. The central focus, however, is on the vocal art of konnakol – a kind of rhythmical idiom that is not just a sophisticated art form in its own right, but also a centuries-old pedagogical method in India. The Karthik Mani India Ensemble combines the impressive virtuosity and precision of konnakol with the powerful voice of Bhumika L Madhusudan and current influences, such as Indian pop music, resulting in surprising new sounds. The Karthik Mani India Ensemble invites you on a musical journey through the complex and ravishing worlds of Carnatic music from Southern India. 

Kartik Mani (b. 1980) is the son of T.A.S. Mani, the legendary mridangam player and founder and director of the famous Karnataka College of Percussion, and the singer, composer and teacher R.A. Ramamani. Karthik Mani himself was trained in classical Indian music. As a musician and artist, he is active mainly in the realm of instrumental and vocal percussion konnakol of Southern India, world percussion and drumming. An internationally renowned and sought-after musician, he has performed with many renowned artists, including Mory Kanté and the Grammy winners Shankar Mahadevan, Steward Copeland and Ricky Kej. Karthik Mani plays at the world’s leading jazz festivals, works regularly with various international bands and leads several percussion ensembles. He is a versatile musician and artist who is at home not only in the field of Carnatic music, jazz, rock and fusion, but also works with classical symphony orchestras and in the area of film, theatre and dance.

Aged 24, Bhumika L Madhusudan (b. in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, in 2000) can already look back on an impressive career. Trained in classical Indian vocalism, she has appeared in more than 800 concerts, performing on major stages in India and abroad, including the USA. Madhusudan has not only performed live on stage, but also on national Indian television, winning the first season of the vocal reality show Gaana Chandana. In addition, she regularly records songs for feature films, singing in more than ten languages. In 2017, she won the Prize for Outstanding Achievements of the government of the Indian federal state of Karnataka. 

Adarsh Shenoy (b. 1984) hails from a family in which passion for music plays a large role. Early on, he was encouraged by his parents and grandparents to follow this passion. Thus, at the age of eight, Shenoy began playing the Northern Indian tabla drums. Ever since, he has studied the various playing techniques and styles of tabla playing known as gharanas, for example the Delhi, Ajrada and Farukhabad gharanas. He performs regularly with his brother, the singer Abhjith Shenoy K. For his artistic work, Adarsh Shenoy has received several scholarships, including from the government of India and the government of Karnataka. He has appeared all over India and internationally, collaborating with artists such as the jazz pianist Tamara Lukasheva, the American saxophonist Phil Scarff and the Figura Ensemble from Denmark.

Likith KM (b. 2002) has been fascinated by the distinctive sound of the morsing, the Indian jaw harp, since his childhood. Both his grandfather and his mother, Bhagyalakshmi M Krishna, played this instrument, so that it is no surprise that Likith KM has made a name for himself with Carnatic percussion as well. Together with his family, he is a member of the percussion ensemble Morsing Tharang, which has performed this year at the Upopoy Music Festival, an international jaw harp festival in Japan. Likith KM is the 2019 winner of the national music competition of All India Radio. For his work, he has won several awards, including the Ghandarva Bhushan Prize (Jhankriti, 2022), the First Prize in the category senior percussion (Bangalore Gayana Samaja, 2023) and best musical accompaniment (SVN Rao Music Academy).

Pranav S Balakrishna (b. 2006) plays mridangam, a two-skinned drum held horizontally, on which he took lessons from an early age. Born into a family of traditional musicians, Balakrishna learned percussion from his father and singing from his mother Vasudha Balakrishna, a well-known Carnatic singer. He has performed throughout India with various percussion ensembles and in the constellation of the jugalbandhi, in which two solo musicians join up in a vocal or instrumental duet. Pranav S Balakrishna has received several awards as well as a scholarship from the Indian Ministry of Culture in recognition of his musical achievements.