KTRU Explores ‘Hamdelan’ a Houston Based Fusion Group

By Helia Forouzan
HOUSTON: Ktru’s Navrang show hosted a live interview on Saturday March 15, with two talented members of a Houston based fusion group called Hamdelan. The Navrang Show director Varsha Vakil has gained accolades for introducing Houstonians to diverse music and musicians not only from Houston but from around the world.
The fusion group Hamdelan means “Unified Souls” in the Farsi language. Hamdelan are a group of eight talented musicians from diverse backgrounds playing instruments from diverse regions. The name represents who they are; as they play in harmony they transcend any language barrier or background. The two members interviewed on ktru were Justin Lasiewicz and Ali Tarkesh.
Justin’s precocious talents in percussion instruments drew him to the Indian Tabla. He learned that Indian music cycles and that improvisation is most important in picking up in a cycle. For Justin, playing the tabla is a meditative practice as a metaphor of life’s cycles.
Ali shared with ktru listeners that he is an Iranian native and started playing instruments at the age of four. He has been a Houston resident since 2011. Since then Ali had been searching for like-minded musicians adept in Iranian music but that were willing to create a fusion between Eastern and Western classical tunes.
Varsha’s cheerful persona gave ease to her guests as they experienced being on the radio for the first time on behalf of the group.
The interview concluded with live performances by both Ali and Justin. Ali’s par excellence in playing the Daf had ktru listeners moved and yearning for resuscitation. Justin resorted to the Tabla because of its euphonic lighter sounds and exemplified it during the live sample. Varsha urged Houstonians to experience this unique fusion music by attending Hamdelan’s live performance.