Suriya Sweets – a fascinating fusion
Nandi – a concert film
Acoustic bassist Pascal Lovergne recently got in touch after I reviewed his trio Nandi’s 2017 album Mylapore for The Sound Projector magazine, to tell me about a new film documentary about his extended visit to South India. Documentaries about improvised music are occasional, at best – the last film specifically about improvisers I saw was part of the Meandre(s) set from 2023, which I wrote about here:
https://www.thesoundprojector.com/2025/08/06/canoe/
- so this film project directed by Ben Flinois is welcomed by this observer.
In it, Lovergne travels to South India to study Konnokol under the guidance of his bandmate; percussionist Suresh Vaidyanathan. They put a version of Nandi together with pianist Stefan Orins, percussionist Zohar Fresco and flautist Amith A Nadig and, naturally, play some shows. The viewer makes the assumption that Lovergne’s aim is to submerge himself both in the country of origin and the study of the music to better understand the nature of their Indo-Francais project. As well as the music culture and history, we learn a lot about Suresh Vaidyanathan’s background and Lovergne’s motivations, although Orins, Fresco and Nadig remain largely in the background.
The film is beautifully shot with plenty of travel footage and interesting sites alongside serendipitous encounters with local musicians and people going about their everyday business. It is relatively pacey, so one can only imagine the sheer quantity of footage the film-makers came away with. The edit ensures the material is accessible though - at one point, Suresh says “...but Konnokol, actually, is the easiest form of rhythm to enter your heart.” This is contrasted with Pascal Lovergne sat in the audience practicing counting out the rhythms with his hand. Elsewhere, we also see Pascal in his hotel room practising with earbuds in. Later, Suresh adds this observation: “Sometimes a wrong note is a blessing, because perfection is only for gods, right? Humans should have some faults.”
For those interested in fusion or improvisation – for the record, Nandi refer to themselves as a ‘’jazz band’’ – this film supplies a good hit. I found the travel footage fascinating as well. The director attempts to thread in a kind of ‘’pilgrimage’’ device by following Lovergne along a quiet beach as he carries a bag of marigolds looking for presumably a suitable potentially moksha-inducing location along the waters edge where he can commit the flowers to the waves. The full significance of Lovergne’s actions are not immediately apparent, but perhaps it acts as a way of introducing a further non-Western flavour into the film. It is a nice contrast to the many recordings of the group performing threaded throughout. On the whole, a solid, beautifully shot and engaging documentary.
