GALITCHA

Kuljit Sodhi
lead vocals, percussion
Galitcha's lead singer, composer and tabla and dholki player, Kuljit Sodhi has extensive experience playing percussion with various musical styles. Born in India, he emigrated to Montreal at a young age, where he grew up listening to East Indian, Greek, French Canadian and Latin music. He became an accomplished East Indian folk dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. As a singer of devotional songs, Kuljit’s first performances took place in the temples of his Sikh tradition. His love for the traditional East Indian folk music prompted him, in 1996, to start his own band, which evolved into what is now called Galitcha. The majority of the original tunes in the Galitcha repertoire are composed by Kuljit.

Chris MacLean
vocals, harmonium, guitar, dulcimer, gopichand
With a silvery voice Chris MacLean draws from depths of emotion that transcend linguistic barriers. Her ability to connect with an audience make her a compelling addition to the tapestry of Galitcha musicians. Chris studied piano for 10 years and started playing guitar and writing folk songs at age 13. Her musical experience spans over 20 years of singing, songwriting and performing folk, bluegrass, old time and world music. She has performed alongside other artists including Mae Moore, Beth Ferguson, Terry Tufts and Ian Tamblyn. She has one album of original songs to her credit, Learn to Be Loved, released in October 2000. Along with Alise Marlane and Jennifer Noxon, Chris recently recorded a 6 song EP with their newly formed powerhouse trio Frida's Brow.

Linsey Wellman
flutes and saxes
Linsey received his Bachelor of Music degree with a concentration in performance in 2001 from Carleton University, where he studied saxophone with Rob Frayne. He has recorded with such musicians as Rob Frayne, John Geggie and Ellen McIlwaine, and played with the likes of Stych Winston, Tom Walsh, Damo Suzuki and Toumani Diabate. Aside from Galitcha, his current projects include calypso group Kobo Town; Sun Ra tribute Rakestar Arkestra; Radio - a group which gathers together three of Ottawa's most audacious but musical improvisers; Toy Box Orchestra, a quartet mixing drums and percussion, saxes and flutes, kora, kalimba and viola da gamba; Parade, a free improvising quartet that plays originals, Sephardic, Arabic, Gypsy and Ornette Coleman tunes with drums, horns, vibraphone and cello; the occasional flamenco show with (among others) guitarist Anton Covic and dancer Juliana Pulford; and a duo with drummer Mike Essoudry with whom he just recorded an album with.

Shawn Mativetsky
tabla, dhol, percussion
A versatile percussionist, Shawn Mativetsky performs regularly in a variety of settings, including Western classical and contemporary/new music, Indian classical music, and world music. He also composes and performs music for dance and theatre. He is active in the promotion of the tabla and North Indian classical music through lectures, workshops, and performances across Canada, the United States, and England.Shawn teaches tabla and percussion in Montreal, and is currently on faculty at McGill University.

Shawn Mativetsky is a ganda-band disciple of Pandit Sharda Sahai of the Benares tabla gharana and has also studied tabla with Bob Becker. Shawn holds a Master's degree in music from McGill University and has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Since 1996 Kuljit Sodhi, Galitcha's lead singer, composer and percussionist has been building an ensemble which integrates music with a strong North Indian footprint overlaid with influences from western folk and jazz and instrumentation from around the world. From heartfelt devotional and love songs, to compelling lively dance tunes, Galitcha (meaning tapestry) takes audiences on a musical journey from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other. The songs are mainly sung in Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi with explanations in English and/or French. Vocalists Kuljit Sodhi also on East Indian dholki drum and Chris MacLean also on guitar, the accordion-like harmonium, Appalachian dulcimer and a one-stringed banjo called gopichand; Linsey Wellman on saxophones and flutes; and Shawn Mativetsky on East Indian tabla drum, dhol (barrel drum) and percussion; create a culturally diverse Canadian sound. But Galitcha's performances are not just about the music. There is an inspiring sense of devotion - to the muse, to each other, to the audience - which is consistently part of their presence on and off stage.

Based in Ottawa, Canada, they have performed in concert halls, schools and folk festivals across Canada and at:

The Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Tulip Festival
The National Capital Canada Day Celebration (2001/02/03)
The Black Sheep Inn (Wakefield Quebec)
The National Arts Centre (Ottawa)
The National Library Auditorium
Hugh's Room (Toronto)
The Lincoln Center (NY)
Ontario Center for the Performing Arts (Oswego NY)
Place des Arts (Montréal)
Festival de Rabat and International Festival de Tetouan - Morrocco 2002
Festival au Désert - Timbouctou Mali - January 2005
and have collaborated on stage with artists such as acoustic blues guitarist Harry Manx, violinist Oliver Schoer and Yves Lambert (la Bottine Souriante).

Galitcha has also been chosen to perform official mainstage showcases at the following industry conferences:

The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference (2002)
The Ontario Arts Council's Ontario Contact (2002)
NERFA (North East Regional Folk Alliance) conference (2003)
Folk Alliance Canada (2003)
Folquébec (2003)
Pacific Contact conference in Vancouver (2004)
Folk Alliance Canada showcase at the NA Folk Alliance conference Feb 2005
ArtStarts in Schools conference in Vancouver (March 2005)
Arts Presenters (APAP) conference (Jan 2006) NYC
North American Folk Alliance Conference (Feb 2006) Austin Texas
La Bourse RIDEAU (Feb 2006) Quebec City

Galitcha has received financial support from the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund for promotion and for attendances at NERFA, Contact Ontario, Pacific Contact, the Vancouver Island MusicFest and the Festival au Désert in Mali. Assistance was also provided by the Canadian Embassy in Mali for travel to the Festival au Désert in January 2005 and from the Department of Foreign Affairs Canada for travel to the US in August 2004.

Galitcha's premiere full-length recording entitled SATRANG, (2002), has done well on radio across Canada. Their concerts have been recorded live for CBC radio's Bandwidth, The World in Performance and Global Village and for Radio Canada. The CD has reached 'top 10' status on world music charts on stations from Toronto to Victoria. Galitcha was awarded CIUT's (Toronto) 'Porcupine Award' for Musique du Monde CD of the year (2003). Philly Markowitz, host of CBC's Roots and Wings, chose SATRANG as a 'Pick of the Year' (2003). The group has just completed a new CD (their second full length disc) for which they have received assistance from the Ontario Arts Council and FACTOR. The recording, entitled Célébration Blé d'inde Celebration, reflects Galitcha's progress as a group and tells the story of their travels both geographically, historically and musically. The CD is distributed by Festival Distribution.

Continuous creativity and performance excellence are the primary goals of Galitcha. With a solid base in Ottawa Canada, Galitcha is steadily working at reaching out to an ever widening audience - across Canada, in the US and internationally.

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Photo: Mike Beedell