Poorva Express is a collective musical undertaking initiated in 1999 and devoted to the exploration and performance
of Indian(more specifically: Hindustani) classical music. Through playing together and giving public performances, we
work towards gaining a thorough understanding of the "raga" form and all of its wonderful intricacies, at the same
time making our humble contribution to the exposure of a traditional artform. Besides ragas, we also perform
dhuns(shorter compositions, folk melodies) and bhajans(devotional pieces). Poorva Express functions as an
open group, sometimes performing as smaller units, other times as a full-sized ensemble, but nearly
always as Jugalbandi(meaning a group comprising of at least one tabla player and two soloists).
We are based in Oslo, Norway.
Our current members are:
- Stian Grimstad - Sitar, Surbahar
- Andreas Bruseth Rødde - Sitar
- Espen Aure - Mohanveena
- Øyvind Johannesen - Tabla
- Moa Danielson - Tabla
- Nicolas Chung - Sarod
- Josef Danielson - Vocal, Harmonium
All the members of Poorva Express have been tutored in Varanasi, U.P., India, and frequently return to receive further training. We would
like to extend our gratitude to the people who have handed down their teachings to us, without which Poorva Express would never exist.
To our esteemed Guruji's:
Shambonath Bhattacharya, Sudip Bhattacharya, Shivnath Mishra, Somnath Chakravorty, Rajesh Moitro, Kurshid Khan and Sri Lal Sahajpal.
Our most heartfelt thank you's