sitar beat and grooves review page

PrivateBarbara Markay : Shambhala Dance (US,2005)-

Barbara worked with many big names and has various credits on her biography. This does not necessarily mean this is music rooted in a deeply inspired musical idea. Like all “new age” labelled releases (-here it is mixed with world beat-) the musicality is incredibly lightweight. I noticed before that for more women than men a “relaxed feeling in music”, with some elements to confirm this, seems to be fair enough for them. These type of women seem to judge music and many other things, including relations and spirituality, much more from a rational viewpoint with a practical sense. They are mostly interested in if it will suit them and is able to confirm their immediate existence. This music is also world beat music, but in such a relaxed way the beats themselves become relaxing. The additional title says “a meditation through movement” which is in fact more like a correct stylistic description. When people would dance to such stylistic movement, it is easy to relax all kinds of inner and bodily aspects. This still is not the same as meditation. Making conditions for such relaxation and meditation are often confused, but this has the intention and who knows one day the possibility. One must surely start from the condition to being able to relax all tensions first, before a start from just any meditation (in silence or in movement). Solving and transforming the tensions to more peaceful conditions however are of course not the general meditation itself, but it does prepare a body to get rid of the daily tensions when they would benefit from a normal neutral condition. An even more subtle touch is given to the music by some fusion violin, various parts of acoustic studio-flavoured flamenco guitar. Also mentionable is some guest musician participation on electric guitar. Two tracks are songs. “Your Fire” is a rather naive mainstream song with the kind of willing spirituality-without-any-foundation-of-philosophy, with a definte to be positive goal. I noticed that in the earliest stage when people live their daily life in an authomatic mode, then start to search for some spirituality, they connect this “spiritual goal” often to some illusion of increased potency of friendship, which is valued as equally positive as long as everybody involved confirms the wanna-feel-good-conditions for it. Although these kinds of remarks will be hated by music lovers of this kind of new age/world beat, I can assure them that my comments are more spiritual than negative or as coming from a non-believer. What I’d like to say here is that instead of confirming here the wanna-be-spiritual part, I can still conclude this is an album suitable to relax your muscles, to dance calmly to it, and rid one of irrational tensions. No more and no less.

Audio : "Message from Morpheus", "Your Fire"

or more audio http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markay3

Info : http://www.mythingmusic.com/mythingmusic/

Other review : http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2005/06/0103.html

& http://emol.org/music/artists/markay/

Dutch review : http://www.folkforum.nl/content/view/5256/55/

Leaf Rec.Asa-Chang & Junray : Tsu Gi Ne Pu (JAP,2002)****°

This release is listed on this webpage not because it is Indian World Fusion with additional beats, but, completely different. It is as an item that can give a completely different idea how to use for instance tabla-like sounds and rhythmical vocals or Indian elements mixed with other music and in a different context than is usual. It can give valuable ideas of how to form new fusions with Indian music & rhythms. This item is in fact inventive new music with only occasional elements which are only given value for the musical composition purposes.

The first track, “Toremoro”, is a composition with Star Trek’s control panel and elevator-like sounds wonderfully mixed with a mechanical birdsound melody and tabla, followed by a timpani and vocal rhythm with tabla, which has a reference to the Indian vocal rhythm style but is in fact made with what I assume is Japanese language. Here one can already hear what inspired Asa-Chang mostly for this mini-album : on the almost technical rhythm of (Japanese) word combinations. The album title and a hidden bonus track after a large section of silence on the last track refers to this original inspiration which came after having heard a recitation of a poem equally called 'Tsu Gi Ne Pu' by Sadakazu Fujii, which mixed up modern Japanese with very old school language. This poem had a Dadaist tone-poem sphere to it, with almost mathematical rhythmical sections of minimal repetition. On the first track this idea became just a small element of a larger and wider musical composition. The voice with tabla combination then is built up with a stronger effect of additional keyboards outbursts, until the original sound combination (-Startrek meets flute-) fades this brilliant composition away.

Second track, “Tsuginepu to Ittemita” is build up with some sweet Japanese sounding tones of Electronic sounds which are mixed with Japanese words recited rhythmically and poetically, made stronger with some computer mix of it, on a complex tabla rhythm which follows the vocals or otherwise. With these elements the composition has three layers. Beautiful !

Thhe third track, “Xylophone” is a short, recognisable song with funny touches of arrangements, like a funny sweep sweep or blup blup rhythm in the electronic touches which follows the inner rhythm. Then some sitar is mixed in nicely together with some keyboard voice arrangements. A light moment with a serious approach.

The fourth track, “Kaikyo” has some brassband fun (solo and duo), with a sea shore sound effect added like a rhythmic effect as a chorus part. The composition has more built up rhythmical fun percussion parts, with more keyboard choirs, some acoustic guitars and simple tchip chip rhythms. Another fun moment, as bloody serious music.

Last short track, “Kutsu #3” has sweet alive electronic sounds with whirly sounds, as basics for a moody improvisational melody with trumpet and harmonica.

Asa-Chang & Junray have proved to me once more the genius behind their inspiration.

After more than 10 minutes of silence, the original tone poem which did set the tone for the original renewed inspiration is added. This poem, a repetition of words, is mixed with an electronic mathematical series pattern in tones (like 1-2-3-5-8..). It sounds a bit like a combination of an original language instruction lesson and a poetic idea. It’s at the same time otherworldly and abstract, and it contains the essence of early minimalism in it, and the true essence of early contemporary music.

Highly recommend !

Audio : "Toremoro" (or here or here), "Tsuginepu to Ittemita" (or here), "Xylophone" (or here or here ),

"Kaikyo" (or here or here),"Kutsu no.3"

or at http://www.tigersushi.com/site/frameset.jsp?page=Rcd.jsp&RcdId=6625

& http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info/DOCK33CD

& with review : http://www.posteverything.com/artists/release.php?id=2979

Info : http://www.riverrun.co.jp/top_y.html#asa_english.asp

Review : http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/experimental/reviews/asachang_tsu.shtml

& http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/a/asa-chang-and-junray/tsu-gi-ne-pu.shtml

& http://www.musicaobscura.com/index.cfm/...

& http://www.brainwashed.com/brain/brainv06i16.html

& http://gravitygirl.shafted.com.au/0203/003.html

One more CD is reviewed at http://progressive.homestead.com/prog13.html#anchor_148

Disky Comm. Harvey Summers : Ayurveda (US,2001)***

This is one of the first "New Age" items I heard which musically are finally worth listening to from another point of view (like from a musical point of view) than such music only works as as a percussionless motionless relaxation after a hard day of work. This release my girlfriend bought with a book about Ayurveda (the Indian system of medicine, which did stand a model for old European systems like for instance used by Hildegard Von Bingen). It is mostly sold separately. Different with most New Age items it has different working layers of music beautifully worked out : complex rhythms, some textures of sounds, a somewhat Gothic like use of synthesizer but then with ethnic references, which gives it strength. There's a well thought over adaptation of Indian melodies and sounds, which makes this highly enjoyable.

I asked how much Harvey did sample anything because there was not much instrumentation mentioned. Harvey answered "Obviously I do use some sampled instruments but I feel that integrity of composition is very important, so, if I am using samples of performance etc, I cut them up into tiny articulations so I can make them play my own melodies but with authentic performance features. This, mixed with the live instruments (I play guitars, synthesizers, flutes & whistles, ukulele, moncena, harp and percussion) and occasional contributions from colleagues (particularly vocals) make the line up." That's what explains the natural feel of the complete mixture : a combination of acoustic composition mixed with varied electronic and sampled melodic textures.

Compairing with some other works I heard from Harvey Summers ("Feng Shui", with some Chinese influences, "Reiki", with some Japanese influences, but lots of synthesiser too,in New Age style, "Tai Chi" also in a more more definite New Age style) I think this work really stand out. It can surely also be of interest for people with no interest for New Age.

Contact label : bluedot.music@virgin.net

Contact composer : info@harveysummers.com

Website : with composers at http://www.productexchange.co.uk/pxm/compo.htm)

His early works at Home Page : http://www.harveysummers.com/

Azul Music Marsicano presents “Electric sitar”

–electronic grooves by Edson X- (BRA,2003)***°

Marsicano studied sitar with Ravi Shankar and Krishna Chakravarty at the University of Benares in India. For the sitar he’s a kind of multi-interested octopus working in various possible fields where sitar was used before. This release goes beyond the usual mainstream lounge groove style. Different compared to other lounge related music, here we have a real group building up real tracks with a real compositional structure. Of course the mixing beats are straight forward, simple exact on-beat beats, but they still are part of the music as another kind of instrument. It’s perhaps this way that the complete score really works well, for home listening entertainment. And for the compositional reasons you could as well label this release as Sitar Fusion, with a few more “modern beats” involved. The approach in that way is not that different from what the great Ananda Shankar did near the end of his life. Guest musicians play tabla and percussion, berimbau, double bass on various tracks and Indian vocals, violin, sakuhachi flute, koto, Rhodes piano, electric bass on several specific tracks. All 9 tracks are between 5 and 7 minutes. The inspiration for the tracks is varied:

Mediteranean, Japanese, Indian, a Celtic Portuguese tune, Andalucian references (with some Spanish guitar and vocals and a groovy acoustic double bass), the medieval -often covered and interpreted- “Cantigas de Santa Maria”, and a raga-bossa (with jazzy piano) as homage to Brazilian violinist Baden Powell. Last track is co-written by the producer and mixer Edson X and has therefore more electronic beats than the other more “fusion”-like tracks.

A very good and perfect listening album! I used it a lot on a party once with much success !

I reviewed another album by Marsicano, which is more ‘psychedelic’ on next review page ->.

Sound : http://tudo2.americanas.com.br/prod/101183/CDStore?i=1 Info : http://www.marsicano.tk

PrivateStephan Mikés : The Good, the bad and the Karmic -sitar world fusion- (US,1995)*°

“Sitar World Fusion” does not really describe the genre of the music of this CD but surely indicates the interest of Stephan Mikés in using some variety of World and other rhythms. Here we hear a still young Stephan Mikés, and his approach to these rhythms. Here it is much more light weight and leans towards the mainstream, at times even slightly New Age and with a tendency towards transparent compositions and light arrangements. First two tracks ("Medium Rara" and "In The Shadow of Everything") for me give the best combinations because the Caribbean and other rhythms are done very colourfully and combine well with the sitar play. “Shiva's Bolero” with keyboard melody and rhythm with Middle Eastern touches has in its light mode something joyful. This light feeling in “Andean Dub” is there as well, and they become in a very easy way enjoyable.

Audio : "Medium Rara", "In The Shadow of Everything","Zamzara","Akashavani",

"The Good, the bad and the Karmic", "Shiva's Bolero", "Andean Dub", "Soft Heart"

Info : http://stephanmikes.com & http://www.indiespace.com/stephanmikes/

Info on release : http://cdbaby.com/cd/i57_11083

Spirit Singer Prod.

Maya & Sage : Spirit of Love (US,2004)°°

A strong aspect of this group is the female voice (Maya) and the dual vocals. Also fine is the devotional aspect on the first track, “Calling Sita Ram”. A weaker aspect is the use of rhythm box in the second part called “Jai Sita Ram”. Like in all new age items musical creative aspects suffer a bit through more use of synthesizer. New Age be-good ideas rarely work, too often blind the musical creativity and especially the musical structure and natural balance of creative sounds. At this point music shows too easily this wanna-be good idea, with less musical intuitive and creative foundations, in the opposite mode of a certain richness that it tries to bring. When there’s enough acoustic lead the music works best.

“Utopia” for me is a better track, with electric and acoustic guitar with bass and tabla giving a perfect musical balance to the ethereal aspect. (Both preference tracks will be airplayed).

“Spirit of Love” will remind someone who knows music and music history either of the flower power movement in the sixties and the summer of love, or in the acoustic movement of the wonderful COB release of this name. But this is another, more new age related context.

Homepage : http://www.mayasage.com/ & (with audio) : http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mayansage

Info : http://emol.org/music/artists/mayasage/

Mystic Jazz Prod. Dawoud : Renegade Sufi (US,2004)**°

Dawood has succeeded in bringing a group together with a rather improvisational rhythmical fundament (bass, some programmed rhythms or percussion) with a very individual sound. The style is partly with an often rather loose chill-out groove, a partly jazzy improvisation. There are improvisations with sitar and flute combined, or sometimes sitar and acoustic guitar on one track. There are talks with a spiritual or philosophical ‘fusion’ spoken word element, (on “Freedom” it is as a more frustrated expression –here like a kind of ‘dub hiphop fusion’-). The improvisations on keyboards with a pitch control stick, I like this less, because to me they sound rather weird and slightly off-key, trying to imitate the effect of the sitar ; for me this gives it a more melodically confusing effect. Similarly confusing to me are the low key variations of singing on “The mathematics of Love”. One the nicest and most successful moments I think is where bass and rhythm contribute to the evolution on “Silent Sanctuary”, groovy and appealing, a track with improvisations on sitar and acoustic guitar. The electronic sequenced grooves on the last titletrack “Renegade Sufi” I think are also very attractive in a different, also groovy way. All tracks hang well together with enough spontaneous variation in expression.

Audio : "Walk in the Night", "Women", "The Unique Necklace", "Call to Peace"

or http://www.cdbaby.com//cd/dawoud & http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=CDB1051960012

Info : http://www.mysticjaz.com

Elsewhen Rec. Loop Guru : Bathtime with (UK,2005)***

In the name Loop Guru you can hear how the group, (mostly a duo consisting of Jamaad & Saam), tries to combine organically looped samples (tabla percussion, used sounds) with a guided inspiration to make an Indian-exotic flavoured Trance music, with a focus on a real musical creation with a natural rhythm. The use of spoken word, organ, nature, trumpet, sampled tabla and so on, on the first track are described as “quantum oganics, wandering blancmange trumpet, psychedelic canary, lion taming, beaudelaireophon, gloop drums, alarm clock, luminous wetlook, strings of Hades”. They know what they’re doing. The descriptions of used instruments are a world of their own, but the sort of naming describes well their conscious use. The third track, "Devotion No.1" also features a (semi-) Indian female vocalist, called Tamarind Free Jones. This track with tampura (?), handpercussion, rhythms, organ touches, tabla, bass, nature sounds,.. is described as having “sympathetic springs, fruit bat orchestra, gamelantics, wail bones, backwards explanations, tantric torpedo tablatics, Ning blatters, soup dish and wattle bird, Lo Rumble stick, whoosh manoeuvring in the light, Da Float Carlino, swirl, insect manipulation, pins, peeping sitars”. I can’t get enough of such descriptions, but also the music is extremely moody between a soundtrack, a trance rhythmic lounge experience, and a real journey through sounds with here and there even groove-jazzy touches. There is an ear for sounds mixed with a certain technique that adds structure and rhythm. In an interview I read that their first idea was “to use tape loops (for underlying rhythms), tape sound collages (cassettes containing environmental sounds, chants, solo instruments etc.) and live playing (tuned percussion, drones, ethnic instruments, prepared piano) either on tape or overdubbed”. Very good !!

Other contributors for Loop Guru during their history : Mad Jym (percussion instrument builder), Nidahl Bulbul (aka Linda Goldfinger) (vocals), Eskimo Bob (ethno instruments), Lydie Pfeiffer (vocals), Liz Fletcher (vocals), Daniel Bartley (mixing musician), Jamie Harley (Sound engineer), Millennia (vocals), Dave Parker (vocals, composer), The Pleasure Dome (percussion), Sussan Deyhim (vocals), Natasha Atlas (vocals).

Audio of "Bathttime with" : "Spring", "Bathtime", "Devotion n°1","Promenade Sentimentale"

& http://www.indiestore.com/loopguru or http://cdbaby.com/cd/loop & http://musicstore.connect.com/...

Review with audio : http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fpen97idkr0t

Review and distribution : http://www.voiceprint.co.uk/web/Release/LG001/

General info : http://www.elsewhen.org.uk/ & http://www.loopguru.demon.co.uk/

& http://www.mechanismrecords.com/Artists/Loopguru/LoopGuru.html

& http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/loopguru

Bio : http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:7cvyxdsb8olj~T1

& http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/loop_guru/bio.jhtml

Article : http://www.global-trance.co.uk/fr_index.html?/Loop_Guru.html

Italian info : http://www.scaruffi.com/vol6/loopguru.html

Elsewhen Rec.Loop Guru : Elderberry Shiftglass (UK,2006)***°

This third release by Loop Guru is much more a '60s flavoured psychedelic Soundtrack.

You can find the review on

http://progressive.homestead.com/sixties2.html

Ricituno Rec. Franco Baggiani : Santur (I,2006)**

Jazz trumpetist (trumpet and flugelhorn) Franco Baggiani on this release went to try to make his own fusion approach with Indian flavours and use of ideas from North African beats (rai is mentioned as an influence) and electronic beats in general, with the help of ‘Madhava Das’ aka Mario Leonelli (samples, loops, electronic arrangements).

The electronic arranger succeeds in giving some range and variations in mood, ranging from acid beat harshness to trance fusion beats, and experimental ambient, in combinations with the trumpet improvisations. There has been made the best effort and maximum out of the separate elements they are used to explore. Franco Baggiani is a good improviser on moods, and while using attentive listening, but both artists and arrangers are also depending on the elements there are gathered, when colouring improvisations before the compositions flourish. When there are enough elements combined, like with the World music related ideas, and with some strange ambient sounds, this works well as the third element that gives the effect as if the tracks are deliberate results of a composer’s creative brain.

At a certain moment, when the techno rhythms did not use any associations or subtler sounds, and became more dancefloor rhythms, they worked more as a downbeat overload, showing the thin line of inspiration now becoming poor. (-but I must say this album sounds still much more interesting than all hard and harsh rai I have heard until now-). When more into moods and when coloured enough, and with a use of multiplying elements, the music shows its most convincing nature. “Indian Dreams” used also tabla, sitar, guitar and keyboards. There has been made enough effort into the album that in general the acid fuse gives a satisfying result to make repeated attentive listens possible, showing some hidden surprises of sound experiments which build up certain tracks.

Homepage : http://www.francobaggiani.it

Other review : http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=13397

Italian review : http://www.sonicbands.it/articoli/album_ufficiali/1652/franco-baggiani-santur.html