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Dancing in space and freo social proudly present the long overdue perth/fremantle debut of an icon ASHA PUTHLI. A pioneer of jazz, funk, soul and electronic dance music whose five decade career has enjoyed multiple resurgences whilst cementing a cult-status.The iconic vocalist Asha Puthli returns to the global stage with a series of electrifying projects celebrating her global influence and legacy as an artist.
She released her first official remix album ‘Disco Mystic: Select Remixes Volume 1’ on the Naya Beat label last year, featuring remixes by dance music royalty such as Yuksek, Kraak & Smaak, Maurice Fulton, Jitwam, Turbotito & Ragz and Psychemagik with all of whom have remixed the long mythologised original recordings of Puthli's most seminal albums, including ‘The Devil is Loose’.
This follows her critically acclaimed ‘Space Talk’ EP released in April 2023, featuring remixes of her famed track by French house music legend Dimitri From Paris.
Without doubt the remix events of 2023, the releases topped KCRW’s best reissues, remixes & compilations of 2023 and a number of yearend best of lists and have been supported by the likes of Gilles Peterson, DJ Harvey, Nightmares On Wax, Greg Wilson, Nu Genea, Colleen Murphy and Chris Coco and featured in Mixmag, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, Bandcamp Daily and The Vinyl Factory. Both releases are already in their 3rd pressing and on a number of editorial playlists.
This year will see her embark on an extended European & Australian live tour around 50 years after her debut, and it will include performances at esteemed venues and festivals including Glastonbury, The Jazz Café, We Out Here Festival and more. This is her first official tour in 40 years and a once in a lifetime opportunity for her fans, old and new, to see her perform her hits in a live setting. Her 7-piece band, formed specifically for these performances, will be headed up by music virtuoso and Young Gun Silver Fox co-founder Shawn Lee, who has worked with Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, Psapp, Coldcut, Leeann Rhimes, Martina Mcbride, UNKLE, Tony Joe White, Chateau Flight, The Dust Brothers, St. Etienne, Jeff Buckley and many more. Asha is also involved in a number of upcoming creative collaborations with rising musical stars that include Jitwam and Dar Disku, with the promise of some new productions with Shawn made to be performed and released exclusively for the tour.
Asha Puthl is one of the most successful vocalists to come out of India. Perhaps best known for her stirring vocals on free jazz legend Ornette Coleman's ‘Science Fiction’album, Asha is a cosmopolitan pioneer of jazz, funk, soul and electronic dance music who has recorded ten solo albums for labels like EMI and CBS/Sony.
Although Asha is a jazz improviser at heart, her major label recordings reflect her wide-ranging aesthetic: she moves between Indian classical, avant-garde jazz, traditional jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, ambient, new wave, new age, and Bollywood. The eclectic, often outré artwork that graces her albums stem from her early interest in glam and glitter rock. Her silken, ethereal soprano voice laced over dance beats created the sonic template that would later rocket artists like Blondie and Donna Summer to worldwide popularity. Yet Puthli's recordings remain testaments to her pioneering musical vision.
A quick glance at some of the artists with whom she has recorded, sung or shared the stage with is a testament to her eclecticism: Lionel Hampton, Alice Coltrane, Roy Ayers, Henry Threadgill, Grace Jones, Mirielle Mathieu, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Haden, Renato Zero, Barry White, Bill Laswell, Patti Smith, Nina Hagen, Don Cherry, Freddie Hubbard, and Django Reinhardt to name a few.
Born and raised in Bombay, Puthli began her musical journey in classical Indian music and opera, which later branched out and evolved into jazz and fusion. Her quest to synergizeeast and west began via a dance scholarship to New York with Martha Graham.
[email protected] her arrival in New York, Asha was championed by Columbia Records impresario John Hammond, who had forged a brilliant career discovering acts like Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Hammond sent her to record with avant-garde pioneer Ornette Coleman, and her performances on his arresting ‘Science Fiction’ album garnered her the highly prestigious Downbeat Critics' Poll award for "best female jazz vocalist," alongside Ella Fitzgerald elevating her instantly to jazz ‘royalty’ status.
Her first music break as a solo artist came in Europe after a TV appearance on a talk show. A signing to CBS records in the UK followed and she worked with Del Newman, Elton’s Johns producer, in 1973 to create her first album (self-titled) –a pop-tinged crossover gem. Her disco album of 1976 ‘The Devil is Loose’ was recorded in Germany and named “An Instant Classic” by The New York Times. The iconic track ‘Space Talk’ became popular with everyone from David Manusco and the infamous New York loft crowd to afro cosmic pioneers Beppe Loda and Daniele Baldelli in Italy.
A familiar face in the Studio 54 disco hey-day in the 1970s and always rocking a fantastic sense of style, Asha has been dressed by designers Bill Gibb, Zandra Rhodes, Andrew Logan, Halston, Michaele Vollbracht, Larry LeGaspi, Giorgio Sant'Angelo, Manolo Blahnik and Sergio Valente and photographed by the likes of Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, Francesco Scavullo, Mick Rock, David Bailey, Clive Arrowsmith, Norman Seeff and Herbert Migdoll among others.
Asha's 1970s albums, helmed by renowned producers like Del Newman and Teo Macero, have become popular in hip-hop, with her music sampled by the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, Jagged Edge, SWV, J-Walk, Governor Feat. 50 Cent, Dilated Peoples, P. Diddy and The Aboriginals; and her cover of George Harrison's ‘I Dig Love’ was sampled by Diplo for UK Mobo award winner Kano's ‘Reloaded’.
Like her mentor Ornette Coleman, Asha has always been ahead of her time, and now, fifty plus years after her debut, she has finally taken her rightful place in the pantheon of jazz legends and fusion trailblazers. In 2013 The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles installed an exhibit of Puthli's costume and albums as a music fusion pioneer from India. Another major exhibitionwhich includes her first jazz recording opened in 2014 at the Smithsonian, Washington D.C. in an exhibit titled "Indian Americans Who Changed the Nation". The last museum to exhibit Asha’s self-titled album was the Whitney in New York in the Andy Warhol Ato B exhibit. Asha’s album was the centerpiecein the display of objectsfrom Warhol’s “Time Capsule”
support comes from
BUTTER (LIVE)
ROK RILEY
DJ CHARLIE BUCKET
THURSDAY JUNE 6TH
7.30 - MIDNIGHT
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Freo.Social, Parry Street,Fremantle,WA,Australia
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