Oliver Rajamani was born in small rural town in India. During his childhood, he was exposed to many types of musical expressions from his family and in the ethnically diverse town in which he lived. After many years of practice, Olivers music has developed into a unique blend of Indian, Arabic and Flamenco rhythms while incorporating musical styles much like the Indian Diaspora of the Roma gypsy. Much of the music carries a trance-like quality with improvisation in voice and drumming. Inside this trance you begin to uncover the musical roots from the Sufi music of India and Pakistan, all the while the guitars passionate sound plays the soulful voice of the fiery flamenco. Olivers most distinct musical feature is his mind-capturing drumming. He covers various styles of drumming from India, Africa, Arabic regions and Latin America giving any music an exotic twist. Oliver has even been known to permit the music to sway in favor of Afro-Cuban salsa music, renowned for its energy.
The instrumentation of the band consists of; sarod (lute from India,) flamenco styled guitar, tablas, dumbek, deff or teppu, harmonium, djembe, congas, and mandolin. The lyrics are the distinct Indian dilect of Tamil used with a mix of Hindi.
Oliver Rajamani has performed with various well-established artists locally known and internationally recognized such as the Gypsy Kings, Glen Velez (Frame Drummer,) Lara and Reyes, and many other traditional flamenco and Indian dance troupes from around the world. |
