What is Trophallaxis?

"Trophallaxis is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth or anus-to-mouth feeding. Along with nutrients, trophallaxis can involve the transfer of molecules such as pheromones, organisms such as symbionts, and information to serve as a form of communication." (thanks Wikipedia)

Trophallaxis is an exchange - between divine timeless tradition and cutting-edge experimentation, between the acoustic and the electronic, beween phat bass in your face and trebles to tickle the ears, between contemplative soulful progressions and banging barrages of flying fingers, between myself and the talented musicians I'm fortunate enough to encounter in my orbit.

Trophallaxis is my music project! I started my tabla journey in 2019 after a transformative experience involving an echoing bridge, some trains, and the imagined confluence of virtuosic tabla with atmospheric dub techno. I have a long way to go, but in the meantime I'm trying to combine tabla with my other musical skills and influences to manifest some otherworldly sounds. I'm immensely grateful to my guruji Ashish Mishra for being my guiding light, in terms of both technique and inspiration.

Live

Solo set at a tiny festival by Moscow Noise Manufactory on the outskirts of Moscow:

Jamming with my friend II:II in Mandrem, Goa:

My first solo performance as Trophallaxis, 2 weeks after installing a DAW for the first time:

Waking up at the break of dawn to mess around on a mountain ridge:

A purely classical set accompanying my friend Sai Prasad:

Other

• Киноварь и Лазурь - Мантра Тары
• Yudol / Trophallaxis - Kupol Solntca

The Setup

My setup has so far evolved to include...

• Tablas with gooseneck mics hooked up to an audio interface
• Bitwig studio as my DAW which mainly acts as a host for VCV rack patches and a way to arrange them using clips
• Tidal Cycles, a livecoding environment I use as a compositional tool and a sequencer to play intruments in the DAW
• A DIY gyroscope MIDI contoller which lets me sonify my head movements

Here are some VCV rack patches showing techniques I like to use.