Songs of the Inner Sky is an evocative intercultural collaboration that brings together Rooted in sacred music and shaped by improvisation, this project transcends borders to celebrate the shared human longing for inner peace, transcendence, and connection.

Originally conceived as a solo artistic project, focussing on master musicians from four distinct spiritual and musical traditions: Indian Baul and classical, Chinese erhu, Turkish Sufi and Anatolian folk, Brahma Ensemble has gradually expanded into an ambitious ensemble bringing together 15 professional musicians including sound producer & musician Emre Gültekin and artistic director & musician Malabika Brahma.

The project brings together artists from diverse musical backgrounds, creating a meeting point between the traditions of Bengal and a wide range of contemporary and international musical languages. At its centre is Malabika Brahma's distinctive ability to create connections between musical worlds.

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An artistic vision without fixed borders

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Brahma Ensemble is a musical project initiated and artistically directed by Malabika Brahma. Malabika's musical journey is deeply rooted in the traditions of Bengal, particularly Baul music and the poetic universe of Rabindranath Tagore. Over the years, her work has developed through encounters with musicians from different cultural and artistic backgrounds. Her collaborations have taken her into dialogue with Anatolian, Kurdish, Armenian, Greek and Mediterranean musical traditions, as well as jazz, contemporary music and improvisation.

This experience is central to Songs of Inner Sky.

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Malabika brings the project's artistic vision, repertoire and ability to connect very different musical languages. She does not approach these traditions as separate musical elements to be placed next to one another. She creates relationships between them. A melody from Bengal can meet the colours of the erhu. A Baul song can open itself to jazz harmony. A traditional rhythm can develop through contemporary arrangement and improvisation.

Her voice, compositions and artistic direction provide the foundation of the project, while the individual musical identities of the fifteen artists give the ensemble its depth, diversity and character.

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Emre Gültekin plays a central role in translating this broad musical vision into a coherent sonic identity. With his expertise as a musician, producer and studio professional, Emre is responsible for key aspects of the production, recording process, studio management and sound design of the project.

This role is particularly important within an ensemble of fifteen musicians and such a wide range of instruments and musical traditions. The challenge is not simply to bring many sounds together. It is to make them communicate.

Through the production and sound-design process, Emre helps shape the relationships between voices, acoustic instruments, arrangements and musical textures. His experience allows the different elements of the ensemble to find their place within a clear and distinctive overall sound.

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Fifteen musicians, one evolving sound

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The musical world of Brahma Ensemble is built around 15 musicians and a rich palette of instrumental and vocal colours. 

The ensemble is composed of celebrated artists who bring together 14 distinct instrumental types, including the saz, tanbur, tabla, erhu, duduk, lyra, toubaki, piano, guitar, acoustic bass, violin, handpan, dubki and drums.

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These instruments carry musical histories from different parts of the world. Within Brahma Ensemble, they are brought into a shared creative space while retaining their individual voices.

The ensemble's artistic universe also includes the human voice as a central instrument, with different vocal approaches and traditions contributing to the character of the repertoire.

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Among the musicians and artists associated with this rich artistic world are pianist Sergio Gruz & Michel Bastet, bassist Frédéric Folmer, drummer Thierry Hochstätter, internationally acclaimed erhu master Guo Gan, Percussion player Evrydiki Tsami , Jazz and contemporary vocalist Lola Bonfanti, Multi-instrumentalist baul Sanjay Khyapa, tabla player Saradindu Adhikary, duduk master Vardan Hovanissian, Lyre player and vocalist Dimitris Stavrakakis, vocalist Raphaëlle Yaffee, whose work includes Kurdish repertoire, and Nilgün Aksoy, alongside Malabika Brahma and Emre Gültekin shaping the musical identity of the ensemble. 

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