Lewis Pragasam, celebrated drummer in South East Asia is the founder and moving spirit of the pioneering ASIABEAT project whose recordings and performances are now legendary in the merging of Asian and contemporary music styles. The project had it’s inception in 1979, and has toured and performed more than 500 performances at concerts and festivals around the globe. ASIABEAT is a pioneering force in creating cross-cultural musical collaborations in the region, drawing inspiration from ‘Fusion’ and ‘World Music’, bringing together a collaboration and convergence of different musicians according to the needs of the original compositions presented.
Each ASIABEAT album marks a period in the ever evolving styles and growth in popularity of this genre of music in the international market. The variety of musical directions in the respective recordings reflect Lewisʼ penchant for diversity and knowledge of current trends in the global music industry.
ASIABEAT celebrated 40th anniversary in 2020 with a milestone recording “AKAR” featuring musicians from 8 countries, made all the more personal to Lewis as it was conceptualised and manifested as a musical entity during a global pandemic.
Led by drummer / percussionist, Lewis Pragasam, the band also features
Helga Violin from Hungary, Grace Leong on Keyboards, Luke Joseph on Guitar and Zailan Razak on Bass. Sarawak’s very own talented vocalist, Clinton Chua will be featured as guest soloist.
A versatile performer, Helga Violin graduated from the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest. Helga has appeared in numerous concerts as soloist and chamber musician not only in Hungary, but in Italy as well as in Asia, namely Jakarta, Bali and Singapore. With a custom-made electric violin, Helga is passionate to fuse modern electronic music with Asian ethnic music element.
