The third album from Australian-Indian group The Three Seas, Afterlife, reveals a new direction, bringing together influences from funk, dub and pop, whilst being uplifted by the majestic spirit of Baul and Himalayan-folk traditions. Led by saxophonist-composer Matt Keegan, the West Bengali-Sydney collective showcases North Indian folk artists interacting with synthesisers, samplers, dub effects, layers of strings and funk-laiden baritone saxophone. An energetic alchemy that radiates joy all the while pondering existential questions about life and the great beyond.

The nine-track album features the band’s distinctive mix of Bengali-folk, jazz and rock but heralds a new chapter in their thirteen year collaboration. Afterlife was inspired and created using samples and loops taken from the bands previous two albums Haveli (2013) and Fathers, Sons & Brothers (2018). Keegan prepared a pre-recorded underscore to establish tempos, moods and key centres. In this way the international ensemble could take advantage of the limited rehearsal and studio time available to them during their India/Australia tour in 2018. Sydney based drummers Declan Kelly and Finn Ryan were also initially invited to contribute beats to underpin the pre-production process. The music came to life when Raju Das, Gaurab Chatterjee and Deo Ashis Mothey overdubbed their folk melodies, poetry, vocals, rhythms and improvisations in focussed sessions at Free Energy Device studios, Sydney. Co-producer Richard Belkner created an arresting electro-acoustic sound world.

The Covid-19 pandemic that began the following year interrupted the bands plans to perform at the Tokyo Jazz Festival and tour the UK. Keegan explains that this gave the group time to focus on the album. “I was determined to maintain momentum for the group even though we couldn’t get together. Lockdowns provided an opportunity to indulge in a studio-focused production process that included edits, overdubs and sonic manipulation techniques. It also afforded me the time to both compose and record horn and string arrangements to frame and augment the tracks.”

The band was conceived in 2009 when Keegan was invited by family friend Sutopa Parrab to experience Shantiniketan, a township in West Bengal renowned for its literary and artistic heritage. Here he met the prodigious Baul singer and virtuosic khamak player Raju Das and the Himalayan multi-instrumentalist, folk singer and poet Deo Ashis Mothey. When Sutopa invited her nephew (and drummer from the Bangla rock giants Lakkhichhara) Gaurab Chatterjee to Santiniketan to meet Keegan the concept for an intercultural project between West Bengali and Australian musicians was born. The son of 60’s-70’s folk-fusion pioneer Gautam Chattopadhyay, “Gaboo” Chatterjee grew up listening to rock, jazz and traditional North Indian folk music. His insight into these parallel musical cultures helps unify their approach to cross cultural collaboration.

The Three Seas collaboration is driven by the idea that musical partnership can facilitate intercultural exchange. Keegan explains, “it’s typical for westerners to come and attempt to create collaborations with Hindustani or Carnatic musicians and call it fusion, but I’ve found this project to be very different. It has an earthier edge that feels much more organic and honest. I’m charged with ensuring our musical worlds come together in an authentic way, without being too concerned about what style it is. Whether you’re into jazz, rock, electronic or Bengali folk, our music has something for everyone. The music is intended to convey joy and resonate universally."

The Three Seas has been described as a "beguiling tapestry of jazz, rock and Indian folk music" (The Age) and their original music as “astonishingly beautiful and powerful” (Kryztoff RAW). They have established themselves at the forefront of contemporary intercultural music with their distinctive mix of progressive Bengali-Nepali-folk-jazz-rock. To date the group have released two album: Haveli (2017) "an entirely original modernity" (Sydney Morning Herald); and Fathers, Sons & Brothers (2013) "a rare sound of joy" (The Times of India). They have toured extensively in India and Australia and performed at the Indian Museum Kolkata, Darjeeling town square, The Wangaratta jazz festival, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Kochi-Muzuris Biennale, Parramasala Festival, Royal Mumbai Opera House and the OzAsia Festival.

The Afterlife tour will reunite the band for the first time since 2019 for a three week tour in the UK. They will perform a nine-day residency at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a tour of England in August 2022.

"A musical marriage that sent the room into ecstasy"
***** (5 Stars), Tracey Korsten, OzAsia Festival

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Digital Alap (Matt Keegan / Raju Das Baul)

A contemporary take on an alap, the opening section of a typical North Indian classical music performance. Melodic structures, freely improvised over a drone reveal the characteristics of the music to come. Raju Das’s beautiful improvisation is electronically treated and set within a digital drone.

Afterlife (Matt Keegan / Gaurab Chatterjee)

Gaurab Chatterjee performs his debut lead vocal performance on the title track. Beautiful poetry that questions the significance of our short lives compliments the driving groove. He sings: “Is there a next life? What next? I don't know…”

Teesta (Deo Ashish Mothey / Matt Keegan)

The Teesta River flows through the Himalayas in the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal. It was once a breeding ground for river dolphins and many other creatures which are now on the brink of extinction. Poetry composed by Deo Ashis Mothey speaks to the impending loss of the river's ecosystem and the challenge to maintain clean water in the face of landslides due to over population. If not now, when?

3Cs fanfare (Matt Keegan)

A fanfare composed by Matt Keegan to introduce the exalted vocal stylings of Raju Das Baul.

5. Moner Moto Pagol Palem Na (Baul Traditional)

A “pagol” can be seen as a free-spirited person who does not have a care in this world. Someone who dances to his or her own tune free from societal rules and expectations. The song is a lament of a person who hasn’t yet found the right pagol. Raju sings about waiting and searching the world for this “pagol” because he yearns to become a completed pagol himself. However, in order to become one, he needs to find his partner - a real pagol. Goes on to say there are all kinds of fake pagol’s spread across the world but they are just imposters. Entangled in greed and lust, they just pretend to be pagols. It is the real pagol that he is looking for.

Dub Dupki (Matt Keegan/Deo Ashish Mothey)

Dub Dupki was composed by Matt Keegan to feature Gaurab Chatterjee’s talents on the dubki (a folk hand drum similar to a tambourine). The piece was conceived using extended techniques on the baritone saxophone.

Menoka Mathaye (Baul Traditional)

A mythical tale about the marriage of the daughter of Menoka, a beautiful spirit of the clouds and waters, to Lord Shiva disguised as a vagrant. This Baul classic has been arranged to feature Raju Das with string quartet.

8. DrK (Matt Keegan)

DrK was composed by Matt Keegan to feature the virtuosic khamak playing (strummed percussion) of Raju Das Baul. A crowd favourite whenever the band performs this track live.

9. Imagine (John Lennon)
Reimagined, and sung in Nepali by Deo Ashis Mothey.