Bhairavi Raman & Nanthesh Sivarajah

Syncretic marks the debut full-length from Australian duo Bhairavi Raman, a Western and Carnatic violinist, and Nanthesh Sivarajah, a mridangam player and versatile percussionist. Both artists share a Tamil heritage, a current that hums across the album. Raman, from South India, and Sivarajah, from Sri Lanka, draw lines that connect Western practice and Carnatic tradition. This hybrid is central to Raman’s approach as a violinist, an instrument itself caught between East and West since the late 18th century. Her playing folds history, lineage and experimentation into music that acknowledges inheritance while gently rewiring its circuitry.

Expanding on traditional music can be a precarious practice, but Syncretic never feels heavy-handed. Raman and Sivarajah exercise measured restraint, letting the Carnatic framework breathe even as it is refracted through contemporary tools. Delays, looping, subtle layering and synthesized harmonies tilt tradition into a new light without disguising it.

Even within a contemporary framework, Raman’s rigorous Carnatic training under gurus Sri S. Varadarajan (India), Sri Murali Kumar (Australia) and Sri Gopinath Iyer (Australia) is unmistakable. She captures the spiritual and emotional essence of each raga: on Seven, the playful raga Bahudari becomes both centrepiece and conduit, while on the traditional piece Thunbam Nergayil, drawn from a Tamil poem, we hear a deeply personal iteration, a weeping euphony of mixed emotions hitting all at once. Tradition here is absorbed, expanded and reframed.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚. 𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙, 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡, 𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.