Oslo Mela's video: NEW CONCEPTION OF RAGA: ODDRUN LILJA SANSKRITI SHRESTHA ROHINI SAHAJPAL OG TEJASWINEE KELKAR

When launching «New Conception of Jazz», Bugge Wesseltoft helped bring jazz into a new, electronical sphere. Now, more than 20 years later, both jazz as a phenomenon and the project that is New Conception of Jazz, have reinvented themselves many times over. This also goes for the band, where Wesseltoft plays with musicians like Sanskriti Shrestha (tabla) and Oddrun Lilja Jonsdottir (guitar). As a continuation of this tradition, Mela and OKWorld now launch New Conception of Raga, with Lilja and Shrestha joined by Rohini Sahajpal on sitar and Tejaswinee Kelkar on harmonium and vocals. All are experienced jazz and raga musicians, having played with musicians like Jon Balke and in bands like Moksha and Andreas Røysum Ensemble. They are also well schooled in South-Asian raga traditions. Lilja by Ashraf Sharif Khan (Pakistan); Sahajpal by herfather Shri-Lal Sahajpal and Hariprasad Chaurasia (India), and Shresta by her extensive family (Nepal). Kelkar, who is a researcher of music and body movement, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oslo. It is with this collective ballast New Conception of Raga introduce ancient traditions to the future.