THURSDAY NIGHT CONFIDENTIAL @ THE GLADSTONE
LIVE! Music * NO COVER EVER!

TablaHYPE & Canadian Club
present

tabla-CO-lab

the OFFICIAL Masala!Mehndi!Masti! 10th Anniversary Winterfest PRE PARTY!

featuring
USRA LEEDHAM, ANDREA LUCARELLI, THE TABLA GUY, VERSION XCURSION

Date: Thursday February 18th, 2010
Time: 10pm - 2am
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen St. W., Toronto ON
3rd Thursday of the Month

tabla-CO-lab :: Thursday February 18th, 2010

TablaHYPE is proud to present the Official Pre Party for Masala!Mehndi!Masti!'s 10th aMMMazing Anniversary @ Winterfest! Before starting the M!M!M! Winterfest fun, join us for a night of soulful and sexy collaborations featuring THE TABLA GUY, guest vocalists USRA LEEDHAM and ANDREA LUCARELLI (lead vocalist of UNDADOGG), and resident djs VERSION XCURSION. M!M!M! Winterfest : Feb 19-20th, 2010 @ Harbourfront Centre

Visit the Facebook Event Page
Visit M!M!M! Website for Winterfest Programming details

Stay tuned for more information regarding tabla-CO-lab events: Next date March 18th, 2010
tabla-CO-lab is a monthly event with new fresh collaborations featuring THE TABLA GUY & special guest artists/djs :: 3rd Thursday of the Month
This event is proudly sponsored by MyBindi.com

The Artists:

USRA LEEDHAM
http://www.myspace.com/usraleedham
Raised in Toronto and trained classically in both voice and piano from a very young age, she graduated from the prestigious Claude Watson Vocal program and originally intended to become a Baroque opera singer. Usra toured all over the world with choral groups from the age of 12, performing everywhere from Roy Thompson Hall to Chartres Cathedral. But after years of singing everyone else’s music, she knew that she needed to write her own. Her brand of songwriting eludes description, influenced by her South Asian background, Jazz greats like the almighty Ella, and lyrical masters like Joni Mitchell. But despite the range of her influences, her music achieves a sort of wonderfully awkward balance; somehow, between the richness of her voice and the frankness of her words, there is an undeniable symmetry. Already widely known in the industry as a performer and songwriter on numerous compilations (released by EMI, OM Records, CBC & more), Usra was featured on the CBC’s National News and ZeD, and licensed her song Us on a Thursday to the syndicated TV show Mutant X, well before the album was completed. Now released in Europe on Bad Reputation Records (Boy, Peter Elkas), and in North America on Spicy Brown Records, The Architect’s Wound is a finely-crafted collection of songs at once deeply personal and immediately relatable. The Varsity calls Architect a fusion of “the distinct talent of a classical vocalist and pianist with the personality and past of a remarkable human being...Leedham’s Jazzy style is rough yet elegant, and overflowing in beautiful instrumental passages.”

ANDREA LUCARELLI [lead vocalist for UNDADOGG]
www.myspace.com/undadogg
www.myspace.com/umbrellamafia
Andrea fronts the five piece Toronto band UNDADOGG, incorporating downtempo trip hop, indie alt-pop/rock, dark atmospherics, hints of drum and bass and break beats, moody melodies, heartbreaking lyrics and sultry vocals. UNDADOGG‘s sound is familiar, but refreshingly unique and difficult to forget. Formed in 1998, UNDADOGG have just completed their new recordings with the help of a FACTOR demo grant they were awarded earlier this year. Andrea recently released the CD single collaboration entitled “Breathe” with Toronto DJ duo Version Xcursion. The track debuted at 1 on CKLN’s electronic chart.
Music lovers and critics are easily won over after seeing UNDADOGG perform: “They can pull off sexiness without being raunchy. They’re just plain cool.” - Manuela Spizziri, Chart Attack CMW Review. “…sexy enough to seemingly be the audio equivalent of thigh high stockings...” - J-Sin, Smother Magazine.

GURPREET CHANA [THE TABLA GUY] http://www.thetablaguy.com, http://www.myspace.com/thetablaguy
It all started from banging his hands on pots and pans or anything else he could get his hands on to hear and feel the beat. His grandfather Kesar Singh Chana saw this enthusiasm and gave him his first Tabla set and since that moment 29 years ago, there has been no looking back.  Gurpreet has been taught in the Punjab Gharana (style) from his Ustad Ji Professor Parshotam Singh.  His passion for percussion has taken him to perform at many music concerts and festivals around the globe.  From constantly creating and collaborating amongst his peers, Gurpreet's music has been repeatedly requested and more importantly remembered for its distinctive sound and moving beats.  This has led him to perform and record with artists such as Nelly Furtado, Wyclef Jean, legendary UK DJ/ Producer Bally Sagoo, Juno Award winning Kiran Ahluwalia, The Bombay Dub Orchestra, Jorane, DJ Rekha, and open for Pete Rock and Lady Sovereign. 

VERSION XCURSION http://www.versionxcursion.com
VERSION XCURSION a.k.a. SASSA'LE and ARAM SCARAM continue to break boundaries and concepts in pushing the music they love - DUB.  Their former radio program on CKLN 88.1 FM established itself for 11 years in the community and internationally as a source for dub music both new and old, and for pushing new and exciting Canadian sounds. As producers they have 4 releases to date.  Currently they are working on their fifth release "VX Past & Present", a collection of previous releases, unreleased remixes and new material scheduled for release soon. As promoters and djs they are involved in two monthlies. The four year strong Dub & Beyond, has seen the likes of J Star (London, UK), Rob Smith (Britol, UK), J.Boogie (San Francisco, USA) and Big Toes Hi-Fi (Edinburgh, Scotland).  VX also team up with Natewize, Prince Blanco, Rednote and the Dubmatix Soundsystem for their monthly Dub Collective parties.  Look and listen out for VX as they take their sound to radio and dance floors worldwide.
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What is tabla-CO-lab?

tabla-CO-lab is an exclusive event of live performance collaborations presented by TablaHYPE. Venture into the uncharted territories of expression and musical dialogue between instrumentalists, vocalists, djs and Gurpreet Chana "The Tabla Guy" with his Tabla and arsenal of percussion instruments. Together they will combine their musical and cultural backgrounds to explore all styles of music. These confidential collaborations will come to life the third Thursday of the month on the stage of the legendary Melody Bar @ The Gladstone Hotel.

What is Thursday Night Confidential?

Thursday Night Confidential is hosted by the Gladstone Hotel and feature multiple bands and performers each week co-presented by established independent music promoters and partnering beverage sponsors. The series will take place in the Gladstone's Melody Bar that has, after all, been rockin the hood since 1889! 

What is TablaHYPE?

TablaHYPE is a Toronto based Live Entertainment Service company, providing services ranging from end-to-end live entertainment, event production, artist management and development, niche marketing, public and media relations and event consulting.  TablaHYPE was first established in 1999 as the management company for Canadian artist Gurpreet Chana, The Tabla Guy.  As Gurpreet's career boasted success as a solo artist, so did that of TablaHYPE's as an Entertainment Service company.

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