Business Class Refugees To Perform At IndiEarth XChange in Chennai

Business Class Refugees | Photo: IndiEarth

Israel-based producer Patrick Sebag and sound designer Yotam Agam from Tel Aviv , who got together to form Business Class Refugees in 2008, are best known for their striking fusion of folk music and electronica. While they last collaborated with Hindustani classical vocalist Shubha Mudgal and spoken word artist Ursula Rucker on their third album No Stranger Here, released in 2011, the musicians now have a new wishlist. Says Agam, “This may sound clichéd, but I’d love to work with Raghu Dixit or Kutle Khan. Both are really, really brilliant.”

When Sebag first met Agam in 1994, they had no way of knowing that a chance meeting could spawn a friendship that would span two decades. Traveling together from Chennai to East Asia, the pair found themselves stranded for days in the business class lounge at the airport in Singapore. Restless as ever, Sebag and Agam used the time to sip champagne and begin building the framework for what would turn into their first self-titled release, Business Class Refugees. Says Agam, “India has been one of the strongest influences for us. Indian folk to Hindustani to Carnatic, they’ve all been a big influence and you can hear it in our sound.” The pair have also previously collaborated with artists from across Asia and the Middle East, including vocalist Mahesh Vinayakram, violinist Padma Shankar, bassist Eyal Mazig and drummer Yoav Bunzel.

Although Sebag and Agam don’t produce music at airports anymore, with their work now split between Tel Aviv and Chennai, they’re still exploring the world and always travel with their equipment so they can record the sounds that they find. Says Agam, “We like all sounds. Everything can be used and abused for music. ”

Business Class Refugees will perform at IndiEarth XChange which is held at The Park, Chennai, between December 5^th ”“ 7^th. More details here.

The entire lineup is as follows:

Krishna Marathe
Subsystem
Vivek Rajagopalan
Filter Coffee
Zahed Sultan
Parvaaz
Blak Wax
The Ganesh Talkies
Until We Last
Manjari Chaturvedi
Draupadi-Flamenco
Maya Kamaty
Yogev Haruvi
Kutle Khan Project
Justus Kohncke
Sapta
Arash Khalatbari
Grey Shack
Graciela Maria
Zenpad Experience (with Business Class Refugees)
Madeleine Bloom
Donn Bhat + Passenger Revelator
Nathalie Natiembe
Madboy/Mink
CEE

Listen to “Tamil Bossa” by Business Class Refugees: