Global Rhythms Reimagined Eshantha Peiris, piano About me: My name is Eshantha Joseph Peiris, and I live in Colombo,

Sri Lanka. I am a graduate of New York University, and work as a professional pianist and music director. I also run the music school Musicmatters in Colombo. Project Description: I am recording an album of solo piano music, tentatively titled Global Rhythms Reimagined. The theme of the album is modernist compositions which have been influenced by rhythmic traditions from around the world, and features music by respected composers from across the globe. [The repertoire includes Ricardo Tacuchian's 'Capoiera' (based on Brazilian capoeira rhythms), Ali Osman's 'Elmokhamas Elmasry' (based on Egyptian dumbek rhythms), YooByung Eun's Chajinmori (based on Korean sanjo rhythms), Dinuk Wijeratne's 'Colour Study in Rupak Taal' (based on North Indian tabla rhythms), Tania Leon's 'Tumbao' (based on Cuban clave patterns), and my own composition 'Mona Magul Beryakdha May?' (based on tradition Sri Lankan ceremonial drumming), as well as Nigerian, Bulgarian, and Japanese compositions] The album will have its own web-site, with a page dedicated to every composition. Included on each page will be information about the piece and its composer, information about the source musical traditions, other relevant articles and audio-visual material, and a link to stream or download my recording. The idea behind this is to provide some context for listeners, give some English-language web exposure to non-western musical traditions, be of educational use to music students, and also to draw web traffic (to the album) from internet users with related interests. The entire album will be available (as audio tracks) for free digital download on the website. This project (recorded in Singapore) will cost me $4,500, and I hope to finance it through the support of music enthusiasts. Please help make Global Rhythms Reimagined a reality, by pledging whatever contribution you wish to make to my crowd-funding campaign (launching on October 17th)! I promise to deliver the best version of this album that I possibly can, and will be truly grateful for your support! (incentives to pledge will be listed on the crowdfunding campiagn page..) What I hope to achieve: Through the Choice of Compositions *I hope to recognize and present a sub-category of contemporary classical composition: music that draws inspiration from both modernist thought and traditional sources.

* I hope to encourage composers of concert music to find inspiration in traditional musics. Through the Album website *I will present (through articles, and audio-visual material) the background and context of unfamiliar music, to offer listeners a frame of reference. * I hope to set an example to music students as to how research into stylistic conventions and performance practice (beyond the notated score), can help a performer better communicate the essence of the music to listeners. Through licensing my own composition Mona Magul Berayakdha May? under a Creative Commons License *Im a big fan of the free culture movement (free, as in having freedom), with its potential for artistic ideas to spread and develop unrestrained by copyright ownership. (The best current model of this is open-source software). By giving everyone the freedom to distribute, modify and even make money out of my creation, I hope that the ideas and artistic inspiration I value will take on new life in the hands of other creators. [N.B. copyrights of other composers featured on this recording will be reserved]

Through offering all the tracks on the album as free digital downloads Its about time we recognized that digital media is impossible to claim as exclusive property. Id like to use this to my advantage: by making the music I value freely available (freely, as in free of charge) to anyone with an internet connection, regardless of their typical music consumption habits. Maybe this accessibility might result in new fans of contemporaryclassical-music/piano-music/world-music? And if the tracks are going to be passed around the internet anyway, I certainly dont want my listeners feeling guilty about not paying for it! Through Crowd-funding an independent release In todays web-world of decentralized human networks, paying 25%+ of revenues (from album sales) to Big Corporation in exchange for controlled distribution and litigation is a bit silly. Silly for both the musicians and the music fans (i.e. the people who actually matter). An industry model in which music consumers use their collective power to finance new recordings seems to make a lot more sense to me. [For those unfamiliar with the crowd-funding model: basically, fans (backers) pledge small amounts of money towards the production, gaining the opportunity to be a vital part of the project, as well as becoming eligible for special incentives (perks). Pledging is possible through credit/debit cards or Paypal]

I am truly passionate about recording and releasing this album, and as I mentioned, if I dont raise the necessary funds from this indiegogo campaign, I will fund it myself. However, this is obviously not a good model for the future of professional musicians as recording artists. If I can successfully meet my target of $4,500 (which includes a fee for me, the performer), I will be proud to have demonstrated that music fans truly do have the ability to sustain an industry of independent professional musicians making innovative and quality recordings.

Timeline of the project The crowdfunding campaign begins http://igg.me/at/fund-eshanthas-piano-album on October 17th 2013, and ends on November 17th 2013. I will be recording in Singapore (because I really like a particular recording studio and piano there) in late January 2014, and launching the website/album before July 2014. Eshantha Joseph Peiris Eshantha Peiris is founder and co-director of Musicmatters, an institution in Colombo dedicated to innovative music-making and creative music education. He had his secondary education at St. Josephs College, Colombo, and graduated from New York University with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Performance and Composition. His music teachers over the years have included Ramya de Livera Perera, Ananda Dabare, and Eduardus Halim. As a musician, Eshantha is interested in understanding various musical styles in their original contexts, and using this knowledge to bring a fresh perspective to contemporary performance. This approach influences his work as a collaborative pianist and conductor (of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, and the vocal ensembles The Old Joes Choir and Contempo), and with the quintet Baliphonics, which experiments with Sri Lankan ritual music. Eshanthas discography includes two albums of Brazilian classical music recorded with flautist Celina Charlier, and two albums of original fusion music recorded with the band Thriloka.