Musicians unite across cultures amid rising racial tensions

The vibrant sounds of the Caribbean opened a captivating musical journey at Auckland's Q Theatre last week.

These rhythmic sounds were followed by South Indian, Chinese and Māori songs, with traditional Indian instruments such as the mridangam and Carnatic violin blending with saxophone, bass guitar, drums and piano.

Led by music director Ben Fernandez, Integration Project: Music for World Peace brought jazz and world fusion together with Carnatic music - a classical music tradition from South India - alongside Māori and Chinese musical influences.

The concert came amid growing concerns about anti-Indian sentiment and racially charged political rhetoric in New Zealand, with recent incidents and comments by political leaders prompting questions about belonging and acceptance for ethnic communities.

The concert featured Arohana, an Indo-Jazz world fusion band comprising saxophonist Andrew Hall, bassist Joel Griffin, violinist Seyorn Aruna, mridangam player Avinash Jeyashankar, drummer Paul Naveen and pianist Ben Fernandez.

London-based vocalist Aakash Binu also joined the group.

The line-up also included Rā Charmian Trio, who won best female artist at the 2026 Waiata Māori Music Awards, and Duane Wichman-Evans.

Singaporean Kiwi actor, singer and entertainer Amanda Grace Leo also performed.

Fernandez said the musicians enjoyed performing on Friday.

"The concert was truly special," he said.

"We fused elements of jazz and Indian music with Māori music and Chinese music," he said.

"And not only did we fuse the styles, but we had instruments playing together in unexpected ways. We had the mridangam playing on a Chinese song with piano, so there itself you've got three cultures," he said.

Fernandez said the musicians had initially been unsure how audiences would respond to the musical combinations.

However, those concerns disappeared after the performance.

Fernandez said music had the power to bring people and communities together, making concerts like this particularly important in a multicultural country such as New Zealand.

"We all have our differences and our own tastes, but when it comes to music, I think it shows that if all of us really come together as one and try and make it work, that's the common language that we truly demonstrated today," he said.

Concert organiser Jacob Mannothra couldn't agree more.

Originally from the South Indian state of Kerala, Mannothra has lived in New Zealand for about 30 years.

An agronomist and scientist, he founded Zindia Forestry and was the driving force behind Integration Project.

Mannothra said the idea had been on his mind for a long time.

"The reason I wanted to do this was I could see the world falling apart, communities becoming more and more fascist," he said.

Religion, race, colour, politics, everything tearing us apart, and it has been gaining momentum, that side of disintegration."

Wanting to do something about what he saw as growing divisions, Mannothra approached his friend Binu Jacob.

Together, they began contacting musicians in New Zealand and overseas, eventually bringing the project to life.

"We have a very beautiful group now," he said.

Mannothra hopes to take the group beyond Auckland, with plans for a series of performances around New Zealand and further afield.

"We're going to do a series in New Zealand, then in Australia, in Sydney and Melbourne, and then planning stuff in Los Angeles because I've got some very good connections there and friends," he said.

His 9-year-old granddaughter, an aspiring singer whom he describes as a spiritual child, was another inspiration behind the project.

"She's an aspiring singer and a very spiritual little girl," he said.

Mannothra said he had not experienced racism during his three decades in New Zealand, particularly while working in forestry in the Marlborough Sounds, where he spent many years.

"I'm in a redneck area of business, which is forestry," he said.

"There are no Indians working in it, mostly Kiwis and Māori, and I've never felt a tinge of racism from any of those people."

However, after moving back to Auckland, he felt the social atmosphere had changed.

"I used to live in the Marlborough Sounds for many years," he said.

"I had a plantation of 10,000 acres, and I moved to Auckland and suddenly I realised, man, the world has changed."

Mannothra said he had noticed more conversations about race and ethnicity, and believed some of his predominantly Pākehā friends were also responding differently to these issues.

He owns ethnic newspaper Indian Newslink and said media needed to do more in challenging rhetoric that divided people along racial, religious and cultural lines.

London-based vocalist Aakash Binu, who also performed at the concert, said the event highlighted how musical traditions had evolved through the exchange of ideas and influences across cultures.

He said he was touched by the audience's enthusiasm for Indian music, which was new to many of the listeners, and was inspired to perform impromptu elements of Carnatic music in response to their interest.

Binu said performing alongside musicians from different backgrounds also deepened his appreciation for the diversity of musical styles.

For Mannothra, music offers a way to start that conversation.

"I realised music is probably the only thing left in this world which connects everybody," he said.

"Because you don't ask, did the music come from Pakistan or the United States or anywhere? It's just music."