Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
ABOUT
Ganesh Bala
Biography
A Kuala Lumpur native, composer and producer Ganesh Bala attributes his eloquent neo-traditional music to his witnessing of the modernization of Kuala Lumpur through the 1990s. Coming from a family of musicians, he studied piano at a young age; his fascination with music led him to eventually sing and play multiple instruments such as the tabla, sitar, guitar, and drums. Pursuing music as a career path was not an easy decision, but his unwavering passion for music and culture saw him through a degree in contemporary music. It was in college where he realized his newfound love for Jazz and his aptitude to express better without words—to compose.
As a Jazz pianist, he has performed with the likes of Sivamani, Steve Thornton, John Kaizan, Tompi, Ushera, Lewis Pragasam, and Zahid Ahmad at various Jazz concerts, namely the JB Jazz Festival, Batam Jazz Festival, and Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival. His first professional music production is "Semalam Di Malaya" for Malayan classics’ songstress, Ushera. Recorded in their makeshift studio, the project was a kickstart for the pair’s current record label and recording studio, OUCH Records & Production. His current enterprise with Ushera includes OUCH Music Academy, a music school in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, with the objective to educate and nurture respect for music and arts.
Ganesh is stylistically influenced by icons across the musical spectrum, from Herbie Hancock to The Carpenters and Debussy. Keen on the idea of infusing rhythm, timbres, and instruments from the West, Indian, and Indo-Malayan culture, he strives to create a new sonic experience for listeners; a treat from diverse Malaysia to the rest of the world. His debut instrumental album, Ganesh Bala The Album, combines the awe-inspiring music instruments of Asia with the contemporary Jazz music of the West.
Biography
A Kuala Lumpur native, composer and producer Ganesh Bala attributes his eloquent neo-traditional music to his witnessing of the modernization of Kuala Lumpur through the 1990s. Coming from a family of musicians, he studied piano at a young age; his fascination with music led him to eventually sing and play multiple instruments such as the tabla, sitar, guitar, and drums. Pursuing music as a career path was not an easy decision, but his unwavering passion for music and culture saw him through a degree in contemporary music. It was in college where he realized his newfound love for Jazz and his aptitude to express better without words—to compose.
As a Jazz pianist, he has performed with the likes of Sivamani, Steve Thornton, John Kaizan, Tompi, Ushera, Lewis Pragasam, and Zahid Ahmad at various Jazz concerts, namely the JB Jazz Festival, Batam Jazz Festival, and Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival. His first professional music production is "Semalam Di Malaya" for Malayan classics’ songstress, Ushera. Recorded in their makeshift studio, the project was a kickstart for the pair’s current record label and recording studio, OUCH Records & Production. His current enterprise with Ushera includes OUCH Music Academy, a music school in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, with the objective to educate and nurture respect for music and arts.
Ganesh is stylistically influenced by icons across the musical spectrum, from Herbie Hancock to The Carpenters and Debussy. Keen on the idea of infusing rhythm, timbres, and instruments from the West, Indian, and Indo-Malayan culture, he strives to create a new sonic experience for listeners; a treat from diverse Malaysia to the rest of the world. His debut instrumental album, Ganesh Bala The Album, combines the awe-inspiring music instruments of Asia with the contemporary Jazz music of the West.
