Neti - Neti: Studio 34, Philadelphia 10/4/2025

Описание: Neti-Neti is the lo-fi ritual music duo of Matt Evans (drums/electronics) and Amirtha Kidambi (vocals/electronics) that formed amidst their mutual experiences surrounding grief after the death of loved ones. Neti-Neti, translated as “It is not this, it is not that” from Sanskrit, is a contemplation on the nature of reality, life, death, birth and rebirth extracted from the Hindu text of rituals The Upanishads. The duo has performed at Skanu Mezs Festival, Latvia, Suoni Per il Popolo Festival, Montreal, and Tone Festival, Toronto amongst others. Their debut album Impermanence was released with Dinzu Artefacts in 2022. Their new recording, Echo of Being / Grace in Rot channels the weight of modern atrocities—from systemic violence to the relentless barrage of traumatic imagery in digital spaces. The record challenges listeners to confront these overwhelming realities, transforming mourning into a shared act of resistance and healing. It reclaims humanity amidst the unimaginable, offering a space for reflection and resilience. The music weaves syncopated grooves, cathartic outbursts, and meditative drones, blending South Asian vocal traditions with textured, treated percussion to create a devotional, ritualistic sonic space.

Matt Evans is a drummer and composer known for his collaborative projects in the new music sphere with bands Tigue and Bearthoven, and as an occasional collaborator with Deerhoof, OHYUNG, and Ayano Elson. His solo-work presents concept driven embodied improvisational performance through an eco-fictional lens and is the basis for his large ensemble Big Spin featuring Amirtha Kidambi on vocals and saxophone. This duo is Evans’ first fully free improvised foray, finding a natural partner in Kidambi who is deeply immersed in the world of free improv and free jazz.

Amirtha Kidambi is the bandleader of incendiary protest group Elder Ones, and has duos with improvisers including Luke Stewart, Darius Jones, Matteo Liberatore and Maria Grand, and is a performer and collaborator in Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, various projects with William Parker and in Robert Ashley’s “New Band”.

Video filmed by Leah Fenimore