A band that treated a Canucks hockey game crowd to an exotic version of “O Canada” last season is set to perform in Surrey.
The quintet known as Indian Standard Time will hit the Main Stage at Surrey Arts Centre on the evening of Friday, Nov. 2, in a concert dubbed “Don’t be late!”
On the ice at Rogers Arena last March, the Surrey-based collective played Canada’s national anthem as part of a South Asian Celebration Night hosted by Vancouver’s NHL franchise.
In concert, Indian Standard Time showcases a fusion of “alt/jam/prog/funk/reggae/Indian” sounds.
Bruce Harding, music director at Crossroads United Church in North Delta, is a Christian among Sikh members of the band, which includes musicians hailing from Canada, India, Malaysia and the U.K..
“The core of us have been together since 2006, my guess would be,” Harding told the Now-Leader’s Tom Zytaruk during a Vaisakhi Parade launch event in Newton last April. “Kind of formally, in terms of current membership and so on, would be the last three years I guess, thereabouts.”
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(Story continues below video of the band’s performance in Surrey)
Some of Indian Standard Time’s tunes push 20 minutes.
“Most of what we do is rooted in the north Indian classical tradition, so it’s raga based and tala based, that’s the time cycle language of north Indian music,” Harding explained. “There’s a lot of different influences, a lot of Western pop and funk and jazz influences.”
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The band members are Harding (flute, vocals, guitar, bass), Sandy Khaira (drums, percussion, bass), Coach Sandhu (guitar), Amarjeet Singh (tabla) and Baljit Singh (sarangi, dilruba, esraj, tar sehnayi). All of them teach and work at Naad Foundation, a Surrey-based organization “dedicated to preserving and promoting the culture, traditions and heritage of music, dance and literature.” Read more about the musicians at naadfoundation.ca/faculty.
The band’s website (indianstandardtime.band) includes this bit of bio: “What would have happened if Bob Marley had spent time soaking in the musical traditions of Delhi? Or if Canadian rock legends Rush fell in love with the ancient traditions of ghazal and light classical Indian music? Enter Indian Standard Time!”
The Nov. 2 concert, which starts at 8 p.m., is part of the Surrey Spectacular Season of performances, presented by Surrey Civic Theatres. Ticket prices range from $19 to $29 via tickets.surrey.ca, or call 604-501-5566.
Surrey Arts Centre is located at 13750 88th Ave., at Bear Creek Park.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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