Warp Speed Vocal Percussion

Lori Cotler grew up as a jazz singer, embracing improvisation and scat singing from an early age.  But her career was transformed after studying a highly complex South Indian rhythmic solfege system known as Konnakol or Solkattu.  The syllables from this language correspond to rhythms and playing techniques applied to percussion instruments such as the Ghatam (clay pot).  Many Indian musicians are reknowned for their vocal virtuosity, but few Westerners have achieved the level of success demonstrated by Cotler.

I wanted to showcase Lori not only because of her musical ability, but also because she is truly a savvy musician, on a mission to make a difference.  Trained as a music therapist, she has worked with such populations such as Autism, adolescent/adult psychiatry, AIDS, brain injured, cerebral palsy, learning disabled, foster children and at-risk teens.  Additionally, she often raises money for charities both through her music and singing.

Here is a mind blowing video of tradition Indian musicians Umamahesh and Selvaganesh performing Konnakol.

While there are hundreds of thousands of great performances captured on tape, the music videos featured on TSM blog feature musical creations that are unusual, innovative, humorous, or otherwise purple. This collection is fun–perhaps a stress reliever or diversion at a late night bash! It also provides you with an opportunity to discover new and creative musicians.

Let us know if you’d like to see a video here. ENJOY!!!

3 Responses to “Warp Speed Vocal Percussion”

1. Tom Jeffries says:

   November 1, 2009 at 4:29 pm

   Lori is incredible! Let’s do everything we can to bring her artistry to the world.
2. Frank Perkins says:

   November 1, 2009 at 6:22 pm

   Lori,

   Waddup girl? Glad to see that you are doing your thing. Even better to see that you are receiving such great write-ups. I just wanted to recognize!

   Be cool-
   Frankie
3. Stan9FOS says:

   November 11, 2009 at 11:41 am

   Your first video was good (And Lori’s website & myspace page are both excellent.) Your second video made my ears touch in the back of my head (no mean feat while wearing headphones) and had me laughing with tears in my eyes. To these cats, this is their “mother tongue” – they’ve probably been doing this since they could walk, or sooner. Overwhelming!