Fed Square x Asia TOPA Live with Glass Beams

Initially conceived through the rekindling of childhood memories relating to his father, who emigrated to Melbourne from India in the late 1970’s. Glass Beams aka Rajan Silva cites one particular memory — the watching of ‘Concert for George’, a starstudded tribute to late Beatles member George Harrison performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2002, featuring legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar with daughter Anoushka, alongside Western icons Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and ELO’s Jeff Lynne — as being especially formative. It is this spirit of cross-pollination between East and West, of old and new, that he has sought to capture in the self produced works of Glass Beams, whose output presents a timeless fusion of cultures and sounds beamed through a prism of live instrumentation and DIY electronica, all wrapped up inside a mesmerizing and mystical visual world of their own making. Through their debut EP ‘Mirage’ and recent breakout EP ‘Mahal’, Glass Beams have catapulted into the collective consciousness of millions of new followers who came to discover the serpentine, psychedelic-tinged tracks through social media, streaming services and word of mouth. Expanding from solo project to a trio for their live shows, the band have also seen phenomenal success selling out every show on both their debut European and North American tours — adding numerous additional dates and venue upgrades due to demand.

TAMTAM is an experimental pop band based in Tokyo. Initially playing reggae/dub music, the band gradually developed into an innovative fusion of diverse musical influences, such as jazz, soul, psyche pop, new age and exotica. The sound is based on groove and euphoria, with nostalgic melodies.

TAMTAM’s new EP Ramble In The Rainbow (2024) is their first international release on the US label PPU (People’s Potential Unlimited). The day after its release, Gilles Peterson selected the title song for his BBC Radio 6 track list, and Bandcamp Weekly selected TAMTAM for its cover and ran a feature on the album. They were also selected to represent Japan in the “Future of music 2024” nominated by Rolling Stone magazine. The work shows their musical maturity, drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Yasuaki Shimizu.

Shio is a Japanese born, Melbourne based DJ/selector. Through her regular DJ sets around town and her weekly radio show ‘Eternal Rhythm’ on PBS106.7, Shio is passionate about sharing music. Always on the lookout for new sounds, Shio gravitates towards many genres from different places and times with a distinct jazz flavour.