andrew downing: double bass
patrick graham: percussion
ben grossman: electroacoustic hurdy gurdy
debashis sinha: percussion
Influences
brötzman/drake, sun ra, les bouchers de silences, olla vogolla, gapa, ben grossman, south indian carnatic music, hurdy gurdy, gagaku, kabuki, arabic music, jazz, andrew downing, trio safa....
ima ensemble is led by toronto percussionist debashis sinha. formed in 2002 as a recording project, ima ensemble embodies the post traditional music ethic by using musicians trained in traditions of world music as a starting point for innovation and experimentation.
ima ensemble's first release, tumma, was created with the help of an ontario arts council grant to sinha to compose music for voice and percussion. these resulting compositions and others used traditional percussion instruments, the digital studio, and extended contemporary and traditional techniques of composing and improvising.
through this process, sinha realized that forming a live group would be the logical next step. he assembled some of canada's most interesting and innovative world music practitioners to place themselves squarely in the middle of the western art music tradition of free improvisation.
the resulting recording, funded by the canada council for the arts, was "bad monkey bad bad monkey", and extends the post traditional concept into the live free music realm.
