Press Coverage and Quotes

“Chakra is a rare jewel that will appeal to an incredibly wide audience, from the Classical Indian music purist to the younger generation searching for music that tantalizes their increasingly diversified tastes. This probably has something to do with the group's seamless cross-pollination of Eastern and Western musical styles, might be the alchemy that occurs when certain groups of musicians collaborate. I can attest, the collective known as Chakra has the “IT” that most bands strive for, but can never hope to achieve.”

Brian Zahm, Filmmaker/Documentarian
“I thoroughly enjoyed your program and I was amazed at the rich fusion of musical traditions you created on the stage.”

Prof. Amritjit Singh, Langston Hughes Professor of English, Ohio University
“Silk Road journey, a musical concert by Dr. Hans Utter and Dr. Utpola Borah is an eclectic concoction of distinctive music from the Asian continent with a western twist. Trade, arts, and culture flourished along the Silk Road thousands of years ago integrating major civilizations of the past. Hans and Utpola's fabrication of the idea of Silk Road as a theme for concert serves as a testament that music and arts have always, and still does continue to revive, reinvent and reintegrate from various cultural sources forming unity. The show began with an invocation to Lord Ganesh, accompanied by Bharata Natyam — a South Indian classical dance form performed by Sukanya Chand of Natya Nirvana LLC, coalesced with Hindustani vocals and sitar. And then followed by pure forms of hindustani classical with Avirodh Sharma on Tabla, Hans on Sitar, and Utpola as vocalist. The journey began to transform itself from traditional indian classical to non-traditional fusion when western percussion and string instruments, and persian classical were added to the to the mix; showcasing the talent of every artist and the uniqueness and beauty of blended music. Throughout the concert, Sukanya Chand presented various forms of dance from India, and the band concluded evening with a sufi music energizing the audience.”

Diwakar Chand
“It was a wild ride down the Silk Road on Thursday night at the Lincoln Theater, as the band Chakra led the audience through an eclectic sampling of Indo-Persian music, filtered through the original compositions of Hans Utter, sitarist and composer. The evening began with a mesmerizing invocation, ably sung by the vocalist Utpola Borah and then moved to a number using the traditional Om chant familiar to yoga practitioners, accompanied by sitar, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. The numbers that followed were a blend of the traditional tabla and percussion rhythms, overlaid with the original and dramatic jazz stylings on sitar and guitar by Utter.  Adding to the exotic ambiance of the music were the amazing and graceful dance interpretations of Sukanya Chand.   More complete program notes or longer introductions from the stage would have aided the audience's understanding, but the music spoke for itself.  Particularly outstanding numbers were Mash'allah, Mata, and Delhi Blues, interpreting the intricate variations of rhythms that are a feature of classic Indian music.  The virtuosic talents of Avirodh Sharma on tabla set the level of play at a high bar, which was ably met by versatile Bradley Mellen on double bass and cello, Justin Campbell on drums, and Hakan Kaya on traditional instruments with the complex and intricate variations presented by each player.  The relentless and unique numbers, each different and challenging, energized the audience.  We hope that there will be opportunities for more audiences to hear these exciting and original offerings from Chakra.”

Mary Lewis  (Miriam Lois)