South Indian Trio Unfretted Make Their Club Passim Debut

The trio Unfretted is on their first ever U.S tour and will perform live at Club Passim located in Cambridge, Massachusetts on August 16. Using modern techniques with South Indian string instruments, the group introduces audiences to the complex rhythms and melodies of classical Indian Carnatic music. Tickets are on sale now at passim.org.

With origins in South India, Carnatic is typically  performed by an ensemble, with string instruments, pulling from Indian classical music.

Unfretted musicians use the chitravina (rare Indian fretless lute) and the violin in their performances to showcase a colorful story, offering a fresh perspective with new approaches to improvisation, and exuberant exchanges between each other.

The group includes Sruti Sarathy, a leading Carnatic violinist, singer, and composer, Vishaal Sapuram, a Carnatic (Indian) classical musician, and an exponent of the rare Indian slide lute known as the chitravina, and Akshay Anantapadmanabhan a reputed and leading mridangam artist known for his sensitivity, tonality and innovative approach to spreading Indian rhythm through the world. 

The pairing of the chitravina (“wondrous lute”) and the Indian violin is in many ways a study in contrasts. The pairing has been quoted as, “To hear the two come together is a breathtaking experience. These two fretless string instruments of the Carnatic tradition speak profoundly and movingly to each other.”

The trio possess a deep and sensitive understanding of the Carnatic form, which they are able to channel through a fresh, imaginative, and unbridled vision of collaborative music-making.