This season, we’re delighted to welcome Sarathy Korwar as the artist for May’s Midday Mantra.
A drummer, composer, producer and bandleader, Sarathy Korwar has become one of the most original and compelling voices in the UK jazz scene. His work moves across genres, fusing jazz, electronics, Indian folk and classical traditions. At its core, his music explores ideas of community, decoloniality, race and transcendence, creating experiences that are as thought-provoking as they are visceral.
Korwar’s latest album, There Is Beauty, There Already, marks an evolution in his practice. Built as a continuous 40-minute suite, the record centres the drum ensemble as both melodic and emotional force. Drawing on influences from Indian folk traditions, jazz collectives like Max Roach’s M’Boom and minimalist composers such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich, the album unfolds through repetition and rhythm.
It’s me falling back in love with percussion and expressing just how melodic and emotive it can be… letting the drums speak instead.
His work has received accolades including an AIM Award, MOJO Jazz Album of the Year and The Guardian’s Best Global Album, alongside praise for its ability to balance precision with deep humanity: “a meditative journey through sound and time… quietly powerful” (UK Vibe).
Korwar has performed and collaborated with leading artists including Anoushka Shankar, Kamasi Washington and Shabaka Hutchings, and appeared at major international venues and festivals from the Sydney Opera House to the London Jazz Festival.
His appearance at Midday Mantra: Earth Pulse feels especially fitting. As we move from spring into summer, this programme brings together artists whose work reflects connections to nature, cycles and the world around us. Korwar’s exploration of rhythm as something elemental: constant, flowing and deeply embodied, offers an expression of that theme.
Midday Mantra is Sampad’s ongoing series of lunchtime concerts, inviting audiences to experience the richness and diversity of South Asian music. From classical traditions to contemporary experimentation, each performance offers a moment to pause, listen and connect.
Join us for this special edition of Earth Pulse, and experience the transformative power of rhythm with one of the most exciting artists working today.
This performance reflects Sampad’s value of being rooted and responsive. Sarathy Korwar’s work honours the depth of South Asian musical traditions while reimagining them through a contemporary, global lens – bridging Indian classical and folk influences with jazz, electronics and experimental composition. By presenting artists like Korwar through Midday Mantra we continue to create space for storytelling that is both culturally rooted and critically alive to today’s world.