Quadrature – Black Hole Blues (Deko Entertainment, 2025)
Black Hole Blues is Quadrature’s debut album. The quartet grew out of the long-running Brooklyn Raga Massive jam sessions and effortlessly brings together a dazzling, charming and ingenious fusion of Indian raga, rock, jazz, psychedelia, and world music influences.
The group features Neel Murgai on sitar and effects, Indofunk Satish on Firebird trumpet and effects, Tripp Dudley on drum set, and Damon Banks on bass. Their early performances developed as fully improvised sets rooted in ragas, first drawing crowds on Brooklyn streets before moving into clubs and festivals.
The band’s residency at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at The Pocantico Center in 2023 helped structure the material and arrangements that appear on Black Hole Blues. Quadrature has appeared at Globalfest at Lincoln Center, Ragas Live Festival at Pioneer Works, Barclays Center Plaza, Joe’s Pub, and additional New York venues.
The name Quadrature references a mathematical and astronomical concept and reflects the group’s interest in exploring the “area under the curve” between raga and contemporary forms, including frequent use of odd time signatures.
Murgai describes the album as a document of his evolving amplified sitar sound and the quartet’s raga-inspired prog rock and jazz approach. Satish adds that the band aimed to capture the feeling of their live musical conversations in the studio and hopes that sense of energy carries through to listeners.
Author: Tyler Bennet
