A fusion band

Recently, I got a chance to see a fusion band - Kalarava. These guys mixed Carnatic music with non-traditional instruments - and interpreted the music in a more eclectic fashion. The songs were fast paced, the instruments non-traditional - yet with a traditional undercurrent - and the kept the audience wanting for more at the end of it.

And just a few weeks before that I got a chance to see a Carnatic maestro perform. The concert was fairly traditional - but the maestro gave a virtuoso performance.

Now which of these is creative? The fusion band is a young set of people - trying out various combinations. The maestro is also fairly young - but at the same time - pushing the limits of his art by virtue of talent and experimentation.

Obviously both are creative - in their own ways. There is no good creativity and bad creativity (there is, but not in this context).

So what is the creative element here? One is where the fusion band pushes the envelope by bringing in different instruments and sounds into traditional music. The other is pushing the envelope by sheer magic of talent.

And yet, both of them obey the basic fundamentals of Carnatic music - obviously - creativity is important but the output of the exercise has to also be liked by the audience - whether connoisseurs or  neophytes...you cannot pass off noise as music!