RhythmXChange Bilateral Festival at IME

“ Through RhythmXChange we aim to promote young musicians from India and UK and grow their global networks. Being a bilateral project and on-site festival, the young musicians have had the opportunity to discover musical connections between India and the UK and now, get to travel to the partner country to perform and connect with the host communities. ”

– Preema John,
Museum Director, IME

The Indian Music Experience Museum (IME) in partnership with Manchester Museum, part of The University of Manchester and supported by the British Council, organized a collaborative cross-cultural music festival titled ‘RhythmXChange’, seeking to explore rhythm as a shared language between East and West.

Left to right: Vinthya Perinpanathan (UK), Joash Gill (UK), Aditi B Prahalad (IND), Ashwin Mandorh (IND)

As part of the year-long program, four young musicians from India and the UK, took part in a mentorship programme. The four mentors are established musicians and music producers from India and the UK who guided the young group of musicians to collaborate and develop a rhythm-based art project, which they named JAVA – The Cadence Collective. The festival at IME included percussion themed museum walkthroughs, enthralling performances by young artists from around the world, a rap battle, panel discussions and a screening of ‘Dollu’, (National Award winner for Best Kannada Film).

The first phase of ‘RhythmXChange’ was held at the Indian Music Experience Museum in Bangalore between 25th and 27th November 2022. The same artists will perform in the second phase that will take place in Manchester Museum in the UK between 17th and 19th March 2023.