MIDIval Punditz is an Indian fusion

Asian Underground

Asian Underground is a term associated with various British Asian musicians who blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of their home countries in South Asia...

 group consisting of two Delhi-based musicians, Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj. Their style revolves mostly around changer

Changer

Changer is an Icelandic death metal / metalcore band, formed in 1999. The band has released three albums and two EPs.-History:Changer was founded in October 1999 in Akureyri, Iceland, by drummer Kristján B. Heiðarsson, as a one-man project. Kristján wrote and recorded the band's first album,...

, jungle

Jungle

A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...

, electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

, and North Indian classical music

Indian classical music

The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...

. Their songs commonly feature traditional Indian instruments, such as the dhol

Dhol

Dhol can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent and nearby regions. Its range of distribution in India and Pakistan primarily includes northern areas such as the Assam Valley, Bengal, Gujarat,...

, tumbi

Tumbi

The Tumbi or Toombi is a traditional North Indian instrument from Punjab. The tumbi was invented and popularized by the renowned folk-singer of Punjab "Lal Chand Yamla Jatt". In the 1960s, 70s and 80s most of the Punjabi singers used the Tumbi...

, sarod

Sarod

The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...

, santoor

Santoor

The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...

, dholak

Dholak

The Dholak is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum Madal. The name dholki may also refer to a slightly different instrument that uses high-pitch tabla style syahi masala on its treble skin. This instrument is also known as Naal or Dholki....

, tanpura, tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

, surbahar

Surbahar

Surbahar , sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of North India. It is closely related to sitar, but it has a lower tone. Depending on the instrument's size, it is usually pitched two to five whole steps below the standard sitar, but...

, swarmandal, sarangi

Sarangi

The Sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of India which is originated from Rajasthani folk instruments. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition...

, sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

, and bansuri

Bansuri

The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of Bangladesh, India and Nepal made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is...

, but also feature more modern instruments such as the synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 and drum machine

Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

. They have worked with Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar...

, Kailash Kher, Karsh Kale

Karsh Kale

Karsh Kale is an Indian American musician, producer and composer, and is considered one of the pioneering figures in defining the Asian Underground genre by mixing disparate genres of music such as Indian classical and folk with electronica, rock, pop and ambient music...

, Ustad Sultan Khan

Ustad Sultan Khan

Ustad Sultan Khan was an Indian sarangi player and singer who performed Hindustani classical music. He was one of the members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell...

, Tabla Beat Science

Tabla Beat Science

Tabla Beat Science is a musical group founded in 1999 by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. Its style consists of a mixture of Hindustani music, Asian Underground, ambient music, drum and bass and electronica. Laswell met with Karsh Kale , and they later teamed up with Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu...

, Vishal Vaid, and Angaraag Mahanta

Angaraag Mahanta

Angaraag Mahanta known as Papon is a singer, composer and record producer. Born to music duo and legends of Assamese music, Archana Mahanta and Khagen Mahanta, he was introduced to music early on in his childhood. His first language is Assamese and he also sings in hindi and bengali. His initial...

 a popular singer from Assam.

Albums

• MIDIval Punditz (2002)
• Let's Enjoy (OST) (2004)
• MIDIval Times (2005)
• MIDIval PunditZ Remixed (2007)
• Hello Hello (2009)

External links

• Official website
• A detailed review of Hello Hello
• Interview at AsianVibrations.com
• Punditz on Myspace