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Alien Chatter |  |
Invasion EP 1 and EP 2
Alien Chatter conveys a sophisticated blend of contemporary jazz piano, and Indian music laced w
ith electronica. The duo consists of Satnam Ramgotra on tabla, percussion and Rodn
ey Lee on acoustic piano, synths, and electronics. Alien Chatter is pioneering the Indo-Jazztronica movement. Ramgotra has played percussion and tabla with everyone from Bec
k to Sting to Niyaz and Cheb i Sabbah and has worked extensively on film and television music. Lee has played with Terence Trent D'Arby, Freddie Hubbard and Jody Watley among many others. He is equally at home in jazz, R&B, funk and pop.
Together, these two veterans explore a unique territory that combines Indian music with jazz and electronica. Satnam Ramgotra (Drums, Percussion / Tabla / Vocals / Mouth Percussion). began formal musical training at the age of ten. Originally learning the tabla and Indian music from his father, and mother, he learned drumset and percussion through elementary school, and high school band classes. A citizen of Canada, Satnam relocated to California to further his musical ambitions at the renowned Percussion Institute of Technology in 1992, where he immediately began performing live, and recording with many of his instructors.
After his studies in Hollywood he moved to Marin County, CA. to advance his study of the tabla under renowned tabla maestro, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music. This tutelage spawned the opportunity to perform with the legendary Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, which helped Satnam refine his tabla stylings. As a tabla instructor, he regularly delights students at jam sessions, community "outreach" programs, and music schools nationwide, where he easily swings from traditional tabla marathons to any musical styling confronted with.
Satnam, tours and has toured with world-renowned musicians. In the past fifteen years, tours and guest artist appearances include: Steve Vai, Beck, Sting, Seal, Nikka Costa, Cheap Trick 40th Anniversary tribute to the Beatles Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at the Hollywood Bowl engineered by Geoff Emmerick, Cheb i Sabbah, Niyaz, Lili Haydn, Cindy Lauper, Mercan Dede, among other talents. In addition, he has also significant teaching/lecture demonstrations national and international experiences ranging from Poly-Rhythmos School of Music (Athens, Greece); The Jazz School of Luzerne (Luzerne, Switzerland); University of Maryland (College Park, MD. USA); Sikh Society of Saskatoon (Saskatoon, Canada); to the Musicians Institute (Hollywood, CA) in addition to offering private lessons in drums and tabla. Satnam has also recorded with a
myriad of artists ranging from demos, TV. & Radio jingles, albums, to major motion picture scores. His dynamic work on the drums and percussions has become increasingly popular in Hollywood. Satnam's credits include television shows M.D.'s (ABC/Disney), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with Craig Kilborn, & Craig Ferguson, The Rosie O' Donnell Show, CBS Morning Show, Late World with Zack, The Radio Music Awards (2001), and BBC's Top of the Pops. His drumming, percussion, and mouth percussion can also be heard in major motion pictures such as Black Hawk Down, John Q, Zoolander, Crown heights, A Bridge To Terabithia, The Notebook, Matchstick Men, and coming soon; Kite Runner, Smart People, and Vantage Point. Radio appearances include KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, and Café LA, both of which included live performances.
Rodney Lee (Musician / Songwriter / Producer) has made a name for himself in L.A. circles as a remarkably versatile player. He is equally at home in jazz, R&B, funk, pop, and electronica. Rodney's sound is honed from years of work on the road and in the studio with diverse artists such as Anastacia, Jody Watley, Mindi Abair, Chante Moore, El DeBarge, Dakota Moon, Chris Standring, Marc Antoine, Terence Trent D'Arby, The
Solsonics, The B-Sharp Jazz Quartet, Freddie Hubbard, and the Jazz Crusaders.
In 1994, Rodney began a five-year stint with the critically acclaimed L.A. based post-bop jazz group BSharp. He recorded three CD's with B-Sharp and toured extensively through America and Europe.
In May 1996 Sonic Images records released an acid jazz project entitled "solarsystem" written and produced by Rodney and Chris Standring. In 1998, Lee produced soul jazz vocalist Jeff Robinson's debut release "Any Shade of Blue" for Wild West Records. The CD was released to rave reviews, surpassing expectations from abroad (London). Also in 1998, Rodney co-produced the debut release for jazz guitarist Chris Standring. The first single from which reached the top 10 on the Gavin/R&R charts. The new millennium has seen new releases from Chris Standring ("Hip Sway") that hit #2 on R&R, and three CD's by pop soul diva Jody Watley all co-produced by Rodney. In addition, there was the release of his first solo record of soul and jazz infused electronica entitled "Innocent Bystander". Most recently, Rodney completed production on Jeff Robinson's sophomore release "Eye Witness" which was released in 2005.
In the past few years, Rodney has begun composing music for television and film. He recently scored the reality based show "Beyond Tough" for The Learning Channel (TLC). The show, hosted by Ice T, began airing in September 2002. Currently, Rodney can be seen on tour with contemporary jazz saxophonist Mindi Abair, as musical director for Jody Watley, playing keys behind the pop diva Anastacia, or performing with his new project, Alien Chatter, which is a unique blend of Jazz and Asian Underground. Rodney's music has become a regular on KCRW, Los Angeles' premiere radio station for modern music.
In addition to the above, Rodney's television appearances include The Tonight Show, BBC's Top of the Pops, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Rosie O' Donnell Show, and Entertainment Tonight. The "Satellite Orchestra" is the latest solo project from Rodney Lee. The music is a cinematic journey into jazz-tronica with Lee navigating from a Fender Rhodes electric piano. Rodney began studying piano at age 10. After earning both a B.S. and M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, Rodney spent a few years as an integrated circuit designer for Bell Laboratories. Heralding from Austin, Texas with a background in both classical and jazz piano, Rodney relocated to Los Angeles in the
1990's to take his music talents to a wider audience
Free download of When Worlds Collide available here
View Alien Chatter Website here
View Alien Chatter Myspace page here
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