Watch: The Dhol Collective's Opening Rang, Explained
A nine-piece ensemble breaks down the slow-building percussion suite that opens a Navratri night.
Before the first singer, before the first note, there is the rang — a slow-building percussion suite that sets the ground moving. In our latest video, The Dhol Collective break down how they build it, layer by layer.
Anatomy of a build
The rang starts almost imperceptibly: a single dhol, a heartbeat tempo, felt more than heard. Over the next ten minutes the ensemble adds voices one at a time, each new rhythm interlocking with the last, until the whole ground is moving without quite knowing when it started.
Made by hand
Every member still builds or repairs their own instrument. "A dhol changes with the weather, with your hands, with the night," founder Jignesh Rana explains in the video. "You can't fake that relationship."
See it live
The Collective will open the season at United Way Vadodara this October, on the ground's rebuilt sound stage.
Staff Writer
Kunal Patel
Kunal covers the business and technology of live music, plus the guides and explainers that help first-timers step onto the Garba floor with confidence.
