Amrita “Ami” Kaur Dang, (pictured) a South Asian-American vocalist, sitarist, composer and producer from Baltimore, will be a visiting artist at the Mizzou New Music Initiative on Nov. 4, and open the 2021 Columbia Experimental Music Festival with a performance that evening.
Dang’s concert will take place at A.P. Green Chapel, 518 Hitt St. on the University of Missouri campus at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for Dang’s concert, as well as other Columbia Experimental Music Festival performances on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5 and 6 at this link. Face masks and proof of vaccination will be required for admission to all festival events.
Dang’s concert is presented in conjunction with Dismal Niche Arts and the Mizzou New Music Initiative, with additional sponsorship by Missouri Arts Council, 89.5 KOPN, Hitt Records and the Columbia Office of Cultural Affairs. Dismal Niche Arts was founded in 2013 in Columbia as a DIY record label and community arts network. Since incorporating as a non-profit in 2015, the activities of the organization have focused on programming the annual Columbia Experimental Music Festival and seasonal concerts.
Ami Dang’s sound ranges from North Indian classical fused with noise/ambient electronics to beat-driven psych and experimental dance pop. Her work references her hybrid identity as a first-generation South Asian-American, Sikh upbringing, musical education, as well as the chaos and spirituality of the landscapes of both Baltimore and urban India.
Dang began playing sitar at the age of 12 and has studied North Indian classical music (voice and sitar) in both New Delhi and Maryland. She also holds a degree in music technology & composition from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.
Influenced by artists such as Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, Dang blends contemporary experimental, pop, and electronic music with the sounds of South Asia -through vocals and sitar, ragas, and sampling. Dang has released three albums: Hukam (2011), Uni Sun (2016), and Parted Plains (2019), as well as a duet recording, Raw Silk (2018), with cellist Alexa Richardson.