CONVERSATIONS IN RITUAL (2023)
This exciting 3rd album 'Conversations in Ritual' of Balladeste (Preetha Narayanan, violin & Tara Franks, cello) enter pastures new with a fully improvised album that celebrates their current meeting point, their musical language and improvised conversations built up through over 10 years of playing together.
Recorded live at Snape Maltings, Suffolk with support from Britten Pears Arts and Help Musicians UK, Balladeste spent a week playing, improvising & recording with collaborator Alex Bonney (recording engineer/electronic musician) to create what has become Conversations in Ritual - a fully improvised musical narrative influenced by the surroundings in which it was created.
RELIC (2017)
The debut album of Balladeste string duo. A collaboration between Preetha Narayanan (Violin) and Tara Franks (cello), string duo, Balladeste, explore the versatility and sound potential of just two string instruments. With traces of contemporary minimalism, Indian classical and folk, the duo co-creates all original compositions that are vibrant and experimental yet melodic and filmic in quality – songs without words with a contemporary alt-folk twist.
““gorgeous compositions and swooning melodies with warmth and fervour that demand attention”
- The Musician (Top pick album Spring 2018)
Beyond Breath (2021)
The much anticipated second album of Balladeste. Taking fragments of melodic lines from a set of Indian devotional songs learnt in Preetha’s childhood as inspiration for the concept of their new album ‘Beyond Breath’ - the outcome is a cross-cultural melding of musical ideas and styles in its purest sense.
Produced Fred Thomas, Mixed by Alex Bonney, Mastered by Katie Tavini. Artwork by Emmy Franks. Design by binomi.
‘Cinematographers looking for music that can radiate suspense but at the same time is warm and intimate, while remaining as far as possible from being background music, then look no further’
-Songlines 4**** Review
Footfall (2014)
The debut album of Quest Ensemble: Filipe Sousa-piano, Tara Franks-cello, Preetha Narayanan-violin.
“Compositionally complex, inventive in technique, and wonderfully ambiguous in tonality, this was a joy to behold."
- Jazzwise
MIRROR (2012)
London-based band FLUX’s first EP, as a 6-piece band with drums and bass. Artwork by Jai Sol.
‘They’ve managed to craft an EP that will overwhelm the listeners with their own style of brooding, string-rich sweeps layered to precision and a feeling of drama created by the delicately nuanced percussion that sit within complex webs of rhythm’
- NadaBrahma
THE OTHER SIDE (2020)
The sophomore release of Quest Ensemble. The London-based contemporary trio bring a unique take to the classical piano trio format. A collaboration between 3 versatile performers/composers - Filipe Sousa (piano), Preetha Narayanan (violin) and Tara Franks (cello), their varied musical styles weave together a lyrical tapestry of sound, blending improvisation with co-created original compositions. Produced and Engineered by Fred Thomas, Mixed by Alex Bonney, Mastered by Technology Works.
“Seductively complex as a watchmaking mechanism, here and there, taking off, literally, from rigorous geometry to atmospheric abstractionism”
- Expresso (Portugal)
Shadowlines (2016)
The debut album of London-based band FLUX, Shadowlines reached #1 in the iTunes World Music Charts and was featured as a Top of the World album in Songlines Magazine.
"The album openly embraces you with an expansive and soulful atmosphere which is unashamedly joyful; there is an uplifting celebration of life, of spirit, of diversity in the elegant melodies, the graceful vocals, the vibrant and energetic rhythms which weave and blend to mesmerise, bewitch, captivate and thrill"
- The Progressive Aspect
