Free Flow Classikal is returning to Karamel on popular demand with a very exciting lineup: sitarist and bassist Jihad Darwish, drummer Moses Boyd and percussionist Magnus Mehta. Join us for a moving exploration of South Asian Classical music through the medium of free improvisation. No boundaries – No limits.

Jihad Darwish is a musician, composer, and producer whose artistic journey has evolved towards a deep exploration of sitar and Indian classical music. After years of working across jazz, folk, and contemporary music, collaborating with artists such as Sting, Van Morrison, Anderson Paak, Eric Bibb, Imelda May, Mica Paris and Arthur Verocai, he has increasingly focused on integrating the sitar’s rich tradition into his compositions. His 2023 album 4 Parakeets marked a pivotal moment in this transition, drawing from traditional ragas while blending jazz modal harmony and Western song structures. The album received 4-star reviews from Jazzwise and UK Vibe and was featured on BBC Radio and Jazz FM. Having performed at venues from Ronnie Scott’s and the Barbican to the Sydney Opera House and Montreux Jazz Festival, Darwish now channels his diverse musical background into reimagining the sitar’s role in contemporary music, exploring new sonic possibilities through improvisation, electronics, and cross-genre collaboration.

Moses Boyd is a Mercury-nominated composer, producer and drummer, known as a prominent figure within the modern London jazz scene. Nominated for a Mercury Prize for his debut album Dark Matter. Born and raised in South London, Moses began playing drums at the age of 13, taking as much inspiration from jazz greats like Miles Davis as from the grime albums of Dizzee Rascal, contributing to his original approach. After graduating from Trinity Laban College of Music and Dance, cutting his teeth at local jam sessions, he formed the duo Binker & Moses; their debut, Dem Ones, earned an award for Best Jazz Act at the MOBO Awards, which he then won again for himself a few years later. Boyd has also collaborated with Artist such as Lonnie Liston Smith, Obongjayar Zara McFarlane, Floating Points and Four Tet and many more.

*Magnus Mehta *is a percussionist, drummer, music producer and composer. London born to an Indian father and Scottish mother, Magnus was excited by rhythmic sounds from an early age, initially requesting a drum kit aged 10, and consequently studying timpani and percussion at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. After playing in all of the major Scottish orchestras Magnus took a radical change of direction and relocated to Cuba to further his musical studies. Magnus has built a reputation as a session musician who moves fluidly between a multitude of genres, having worked with artists such as Jacob Collier, Brian Eno, Damon Albarn, Bastille, Moses Boyd, Ibibio Sound Machine, Sarathy Korwar, Dengue Dengue Dengue, El Búho, Cassie Kinochi and Melt Yourself Down. He is also in demand on the London musical theatre and live performance scene on shows such as Abba Voyage, Tina the Musical, The Lion King, Ain’t Too Proud, Bend it like Beckham, and for companies such as Royal Opera House, LSO, National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Matthew Bournes’s New Adventures, and Rambert. Magnus has played on numerous soundtracks including ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One’, ‘The Hobbit, an unexpected journey’, the Channel 4 ‘Indian Summers’ series, and the Iranian film ‘Hussein Who Said No’.

The zerOclasikal project was set up in 2013 as platform for a radical approach to south Asian classical music – facilitating progressions, experiments, and developments in the genre, through a ‘contemporary’ mindset.

Commissioning of new work and organizing the frequency of performance is our central mission and activity. We are also setting up infrastructures for an industry for next-gen south Asian classical musicianship, trained in the UK – such as building of a touring circuit, agency and recording label.

Karamel – 4 Coburg Road, London N22 6UJ. The Karamel vegan kitchen will be serving food until 9.30pm. Email karamel8775@gmail.com to book a table for groups of 3+.

£7.50 Early Bird, £10 General Admission, £5 Student

Doors open 7pm, music starts at 8pm.