Eclectic Euphony

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Butterfly Effect Preview Tracks Review - Karsh Kale Collective

Karsh Kale, in late 2011 announced his "collective" project and lineup. We then saw him on Coke Studio on 2012 with 1 song as a tribute for Sultan Khan, another written around a Blackstratblues composition and a third being a his rendition of a classic bollywood number. The other three songs however were composed by "The Karsh Kale Collective".

Since then, he has been playing these 6 tracks at NH7 and other live concerts, along with a fresh song "Shiva" (and once did an amazing cover of U2's city of blinding lights).

In his appearances in TV shows, through Coke Studio, Pepsi MTV Indies: The Ride and Sony Project Resound, he always spoke about and focussed on, "The Collective", and how he would like to compose symbiotically with musicians of different schools. In The Dewarists season 1 as well, he spoke about how he learnt different instruments only to understand the nature of music more holistically. So through all these years, Karsh has now become the grand orchestrator of everything from blues-rock guitars, Indian classical instrumentals and vocals, electronica and soulful keyboard patterns, and needless to say, percussion (The KKC + NH7 all stars set in NH7 2013 was so friggin' cool!). He not only understands all these fields deeply and intricately in isolation, but he commands them and composes using all these genres flawlessly, and still has an eclectic sound that is uniquely his own. In my understanding, the growth from a solo producer and composer to a complete orchestrator is phenomenal, though "the collective" has always been Karsh's grand plan.

Karsh has now written a new album which will be out in 2015, called "Butterfly Effect". What an apt name too! He now released 5 of his tracks online through vimeo (following sunlight) and soundcloud. We have been lucky enough to hear preview tracks and edits from this album before it is release. The hype for it is massive! The way he has built it up for the audiences, almost unintentionally, is another proof of his honest music. Any Karsh fan knows that his aesthete is constantly developing for the better and is going into hitherto unexplored areas, and "Butterfly Effect" is going to be a culmination of all these influences. Let's now talk about the preview tracks. "Thin line of blue" a mellow track with vocals in a carnatic style of music, and ardent keyboard loop and electronic beats is ambient and spaced out. It is fantastic how each of these tracks has such a neo-feel and is very different from the other. This track has a very Sigur Ros like feel to it. Feeling: Satisfied, complete, pure, calm. Colour scheme for this track: (no pun intended, but the song feels very blue to a visual thinker like me)

"Up" features a familiar style of singing that Karsh has had for a while now, doubled up with a Sitar solo that has an electro-heavy output. This track starts intense and goes into a far more intense and explosive electro-rock space towards the end. This sounds so eclectic and dynamic! It is many people's first favourite from the lot of five. Oh and there's Karsh's tabla in this track. Feeling: agitated, revolting, upbeat. Colour scheme for this track:

"Shiva" was heard live by many Karsh fans who have attended the collective concerts in the past 2 years. In the studio version, this song keeps its rock elements intact, (Warren has packed some superb solos!) while the flute parts are far more clearer and defined in the recorded version. The base keyboard and guitar loop itself is immensely catchy and hooky. You think the song ends at a point, when they pickup with a rock intensive climax and let you go. And thumbs up for Benny's vocals. It must be mentioned that Karsh has gotten the best out of him. (That part where the rock guitars raise the tension of the track, and Benny's voice emerging like sunshine from clouds is simply fabulous, even after multiple listenings) Feeling: Soulful, contrasting, moving and dynamic. Colour scheme for this track:

"Following Sunlight" is a fresh and happy-going song that is light on the ears, and is a detour from the other fervent sounds from the album. It somehow reminds me of Karsh's take on "Give peace a chance" by Yoko Ono. The melange between Indian and western elements is seamless and Karsh makes it sound easy. Feeling: light, bright, Sunday afternoon. Colour scheme for this track:

"Butterfly Effect", the titular track features a Charukeshi-esque vocal space to begin with, with a string-section adding to the gravitas of the song, later joined by Sarangi by Sabir Khan. It has an electro-percussive buildup towards the climax. Feeling: grave, serious. Colour scheme for this track:

All in all, this is a superb set of songs and I have been listening to only these tracks since yesterday, when they released. Can't wait to hear what the other tracks are. With the neo-sounding aesthete, the individual musicians at the peak of their talents and superb composition sense and arrangement by Karsh, this album's gonna be the bomb! In my opinion, this album takes fusion and world music to a whole different level. It defines Karsh Kale as a genre by itself. No other musician has such varied influenced funneled into such crazy outputs. I have to think hard to see which other artistes have this level of detail and sound quality.

This album, I am sure will raise the bar of not only Karsh's music but also the entire Indie music scene that we see today. Fetch this man a Grammy or two! I feel we shall see the indie scene change phenomenally. All the big guns of Indie are focussing on making efforts to reinvent themselves: Advaita, Indian Ocean (with Tandanu), and Raghu Dixit (with Nritarutya and other visual elements in their live concerts) to name a few. 2015 sounds like a good year for indie fans with Advaita's new EP, Nitin Sawhney's new album (which he promises is a departure from his previous work) and Karsh's album coming out. I am going to buy this one as soon as possible! And attend the release concert. And try to get Karsh to sign my album CD for me.

Links:

http://karshkale.com/

https://www.facebook.com/karshkalemusic

And of course, his soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/karshkale/sets/karsh-kale-butterfly-effect

[eclecticeuphony]

Culture Code Landscape (2014) - Adi & Suhail

Aditya Balani (former Advaita member) and Suhail Yusuf Khan (Sarangi and Vocals, Advaita) form this very unconventional duo of "Adi and Suhail". We'd been seeing some videos and internet presence of Adi & Suhail since 2012, perhaps. The album floats between Jazz, Rock, Blues, Sufi and Indian Classical. Aditya Balani packs some amazing guitar solos. The orchestrations around lead instruments and vocals are no short of epic. Suhail Yusuf Khan, as always doesn't cease to surprise us every time with completely maverick, yet deeply rooted and canon Sarangi parts. One'd then ask what's the difference between Advaita and Adi & Suhail? In their hearts, both bands employ Indian Classical, and western elements. But that happens to be the only similarity in the two groups. Advaita is more Indian-sounding, not only through their lyrics, but also through the musical arrangements. Adi & Suhail, on the contrary, are more Sufi-inspired. If you consider a same raag, that is seen in Indian Classical and Sufi arrangements, though it is technically the same set of rules to play / sing notes, there is a huge difference in the aesthetic that these two forms of music achieve. That, according to me is the prime melodic difference. Sufism tends to focus more on aesthete and feeling of a composition, while Indian Classical relies solely on technical clarity in order to achieve a certain feeling. That's the difference between Adi & Suhail and Advaita. To me, Culture Code Landscape sounded eccentric at the first go. In the end, all music is using proper technical expertise in playing an instrument / singing in order to create an aesthetic effect. So better you are technically, more mature your music will be. Adi & Suhail have come up with a very deep and intricate sound at a very young age. Suhail's Sarangi, as I said before conforms strictly with Indian Classical raags, but at the same time plays riffs and hooklines that sound quite different and unique. He can play a blues solo in an Indian Classical Raag, or sometimes even an epic ballad climax. He can play raggae riffs and almost electonic-sounding loops. His sound can have the wisdom of ancient raags, and still fit in neo-style of songs.

Favourite picks: Naina - Quite a nice opening track (which also sounded eccentric to me in the beginning), but what an epic climax to the track! It has sufi lyrics given a new tune, and amazing western orchestration. Dil Tere - Oh the Sarangi riff! And the solos. And Suhail's vocals. Beautifully done! Quite an unusual but amazing track. Zindagi - My top favourite from the lot. This song is downright amazing. It builds on you and seeps in deep. Aditya Balani has played upbeat solo parts, and Suhail's Sarangi harmonies which linger around catchy vocal lines are nothing short of awesome. This song takes the album to a whole new level! The percussion is quick and flamboyant. For some reason, this track always elates me to a level where I feel I there's loads to do in life, and I should get going. Laage Re - Perhaps the most classical-sounding track from the lot. This ballad, based around Raag Marubihag, is very introspective and seems to delve deep. The lyrics are sufi-inspired and Suhail is absolutely brilliant on vocals. The percussions are slow and give you the feeling that you should stop running around other things, and introspect within, but at the same time - the lyrics seek an external beloved. What depth! This again complies with the sufi feeling of singing out to an external beloved, but the song is actually meant for the one holy entity - which is one, which is all. Jogiya - Starts with a kickass bassline. Suhail floats his vocals effortlessly over an electronic riff. This makes the song very groovy. Sorta reminds me of Mofunk from Advaita's "Silent Sea", but not a lot. Suhail has outdone himself with his vocals here! I love the layering of this song - how each element - the bass, percussions, Sarangi, guitar, electronica and vocals have their own identity, but still gel with the overall mood of the song. Brilliant! Qalandar - Though we saw this song in Coke Studio @ MTV - Season 3, before it's release in the album, the album version tends to be edgier and better. It is extremely upbeat in it's percussion, and the drummer's ever-so-flamboyant parts stand out. The more you listen to this song, the more you want to. This electro-rock song is a really cool way to close off the album. All in all, I think this is a crazy album. Unique. Unconventional. Neo. Do give it a listen. Adi & Suhail and their work can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5CgKyOMOUE (Qalandar - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3)

https://www.facebook.com/adiandsuhail

https://www.oklisten.com/adiandsuhail

http://youtube.com/adiandsuhail

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=adi+and+suhail

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Sampooran (2004) - Mekaal Hasan Band

It's a shame how less known this band is in India.

I was reading about Javed Bashir after having watched Coke Studio Season 2, and got to know that he is the lead vocalist for a fusion band called "Mekaal Hasan Band". The band describes themselves as a "Sufi-Rock" band, which is just the least to say about them. The frontman of the band is Mekaal Hasan has learnt from Berklee College of music, Boston and is a maestro at the instrument. He also produces for not only his band, but also other famous musicians around Pakistan. He has worked for film soundtracks as well. To bring a classical flavour to the tracks, we have Mohammad Papu on various flutes, whose sound is seldom heard in the songs through an electronic filter (which is so ahead of it's time and is awesome).

The band has 2 albums, "Sampooran", released in 2004 and "Saptak" - released in 2009 (even Wikipedia is confused about when it has released).

These guys are serious musicians! There is wisdom of Baba Bulleh Shah in their lyrics, the intricacies and variations of western harmonies, the heft of electric guitar, years and years of classical training and practice by the hindustani musicians. This makes the songs very serious outputs.

This band started off as an instrumental-focussed band, and these experiments can be seen through tracks like Andholan from Saptak, Sampooran and Late Moon from Sampooran; but later turned into a vocal and classical melody driven band.

The best part of all the songs in this album is Hindustani Classical arrangement of intense and depp Punjabi/Urdu lyrics, paired with complementing western guitars and jazz-like fluid, improvisation-based percussion. This kind of percussion goes hand in hand with Hindustani Classical, because of the improvising-oriented nature of Hindustani Classical music.

The songs that are not lyrically based on Sufi kalaams are based on Bandishes and Khyals from Hindustani Classical music.

The opening number "Sajan", "Waris Shah" and "Rabba" are mellow and easy, a quality that is not seen in many of Mekaal Hassan's tracks. Especially, the second album "Saptak" tends to be not only far more quick and upbeat, but also intense and heavy melodically, and harmonically.

Hats off to the title track, "Sampooran" which is a guitar-flute jugalbandi of sorts based around Raag Yaman. This song is also quite grave in it's mood, though it is Raag Yaman. A small section of this song aptly utilizes Javed Bashir's aalaps around a famous Hindustani Classical Bandish. What vocal quality! There seems to be wisdom of a thousand years in Javed Bashir's vocals - both lyrically and melodically. Mekaal Hassan, on his electric guitar also follows the Raag Yaman scale while playing in a blues-rock style. Which is downright awesome, and might even sound better than the flute parts at times.

"Sanwal" was probably the biggest hit of Mekaal Hassan Band that brought it to popular notice (to those who know the band). "Sanwal", "Darbari" and "Ya Ali" are heavy and gravely. The flute, guitars and vocals in all the three songs are so intense, none of them tend to tone down for the other - but that's what you want to listen to when you listen to Mekaal Hassan Band! That's the style that defines the band. "Sanwal" and "Ya Ali" have sufi lyrics, while "Darbari" lyrically belongs to a more western / central part of Asia, and not Pakistan or India as such; while is melodically around Raag Darbari Kanada.

All in all, this album is an amazing introduction to a band that is so sharp in terms of it's melodies. It is intense, serious, and even aggressive at parts (the climax of Darbari and Ya Ali's progressive composition).

Do give it a listen. Mekaal Hassan Band have done this in 2004. That is unbelievable! They were years ahead of their time. It is only after 2009, after the popular Coke Studio, and festivals like NH7, that people started enjoying indie music of this sort.

The bad part about this band is that they have disbanded quite a lot, especially since 2010. It's quite the heartbreak considering the mature melodies that they came up with and the standards they have set in just 2 albums. Javed Bashir left, came back, and left again. Asad Abbas was the vocalist for a while, and now they are an Indo-Pak music act, featuring an Indian female vocalist.

http://www.mekaalhasanband.com/

[eclecticeuphony]

Karsh Kale on Coke Studio @ MTV (2012)

Can't believe it's already been 2 years since this came out. These songs still sound new and fresh, they sound like nothing one as heard before.

For those who don't know who Karsh Kale is, Karsh is a musician of a unique sort, born in the UK, brought up in Brooklyn, New York. His major work has been in finding a golden mean between Indian Classical Music, and Electronica. He is most known for playing the tabla, though he is brilliant at the keyboard and the drumkit. He produces and arranges his own tracks. He sings. He plays the guitar. He DJs at pubs. He plays tabla in Indian Classical concerts.

Though his tracks draw massive influences from Indian Classical Music, none of his work had released in India until he did a collaborative album with Anoushka Shankar, titled "Breathing Under Water" (I shall review this one later, but do get your hands on it if you haven't). He came to critical and public acclaim ever since independent festivals like NH7 took off in Pune, and shows like "The Dewarists" and "Coke Studio @ MTV" started to feature him.

Having said that he is a master at Tabla and Electronica, his music has largely been trippy and percussive. His Tabla taals and lehraas influence his electronica, and his electronica influences his tabla. If you listen to his solo albums (Realize, Liberation, Broken English, Cinema) you will find flute, sarangi and vocals aalaps paired with mainly electronic loops, and also string sections and western classical harmonies, and needless to mention - his electric tabla.

In Coke Studio @ MTV, however Karsh has tried to do something beyond what he normally does. He is still electronic and percussive in his approach, but he has formed an ensemble of musicians that he calls "Karsh Kale Collectiv". The song writing is now a collaborative effort, and the output is neo-electronica with large Indian Classical sections. "Karsh Kale Collectiv" includes Benny Dayal, Shilpa Rao, Shruti Pathak and Monali Thakur as lead vocalists, Pandit Ajay Prasanna on Hindustani Classical Flute, Warren Mendonsa (Blackstratblues) on guitars, Jai Row Kavi on drums and Jayant Luthra on Electronics. Though this is the core group for Karsh Kale collectiv, we frequently see Sabir Khan on Sarangi, and many other guest musicians.

So, finally coming to his songs.

In this episode, every song has been phenomenally different from the others.

The episode starts with "Hallelujah", which was initially an instrumental piece called "An Ode to A Sunny Day", composed by Warren Mendonsa. Karsh sung and arranged the very famous "Hallelujah" around this guitar-heavy rock piece. To add another flavour, Shilpa Rao sings "Jhula" from raag Tilak Kamod in this song, along with Pandit Ajay Prasanna on the flute. The blend is beautiful, and Shilpa's vocals, as always are stunning in their own way. Watch out for Warren's epic solo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v11rpZgzOCk

Karsh, back in the nineties played drums along with a group called Tabla Beat Science, which had Ustaad Zakir Hussain on Tabla, Ustaad Sultan Khan on Sarangi and Vocals, and Salim-Sulaiman doing orchestral arrangements. After the then recent death of Ustaad Sultan Khan, Karsh decided to do "Kajar Bin Kaare" a smash hit from the live performances of Tabla Beat Science as a tribute. This time Karsh took over the Tabla, Salim Merchant was called for the vocals, Ustaad Sultan Khan's son Sabir Khan was called on vocals and Jai Row Kavi was on drums. What an explosive song! Composed around raag Kirwani, Karsh's typical percussion heavy element is invariably seen in this song. Each musician in this song has brilliantly played their part. This is certainly the best song I've heard from Karsh Kale. Do not miss this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsnwftjlW5o

Next, in "Peekaboo", Karsh uses his own lyrics originally penned for his album "Cinema" in 2011, with a hip-hop element. Apeksha Dandekar's vocals are strong and exact. When she shifts from Hindustani to Western vocals, you'll be blown off! The lyrics are literally spooky and will leave a shiver running down your spine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ4cqPkdEPc

"Glorious" is an experimentative track, in which Karsh tries to show the contrast in human life, by using two raags in two different scales. Pandit Ajay Prasanna does a stellar job in the raag-shift on his flute. This song is also percussion heavy with Jai Row Kavi's smashing performance, and a very strong electronic hookline. Karsh himself sits on the keyboard and has composed a catchy harmony around the track that fits right in both the raags. In theory of composition and the performance of this song raises standards for Karsh himself! It is the definitive of what Karsh Kale Collectiv is trying to achieve. Though many people did not like the rap section in the song, I thought it fit in right. The practice session video of this song shows Ravi Chary on sitar, but he is completely cut off from the final performance. This song portrays what Karsh exactly had in mind, the regular contrast that we see in day and night, in happiness and sadness. I believe that though this song was not as well accepted as his other songs, this technique of composition, and of collaborative song writing is what will shape not only Karsh's music but the entire hindustani-fusion scene in India. This song is ahead of it's time. Period. So much thought behind each element! Damn! Also watch out for the epic climax where Warren takes off on his slide guitar, which glides over Shruti Pathak's ardent aalap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NEu55p9R10

"Shedding Skin" Shedding Skin showcases all of the Collectiv's female vocal talent. This song starts with and comes back to Raag Charukeshi time and again. All female vocalists are distinct and beautifully placed in the composition. Shilpa Rao's part in the end will be a fresh gush of air. Karsh again keyboards this song and also sings a climactic english verse. Very subtle as compared to the other heavy songs from the episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHyiJAbE48c

"Dil Cheez" Karsh is back on his Tabla, and is joined by Sabir Khan on Sarangi and Ravi Chari on Sitar. Karsh has done a fresh take on this number. Warren's guitars and Jai Row Kavi's drums in no means overpower the classical nature of this song, in fact, they fit in just right. Monali Thakur does justice to this song - don't judge her in comparison to Asha Bhosle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoVkReLGpBk

The result is certainly more than sum of it's parts. Karsh has grown as a musician majorly by collaborating with musicians of myriad genres from around the world for many years. This maturity is seen through his songs. There's no-one like him!

All in all, this episode, inarguably was the best from Coke Studio @ MTV, Season 2. This episode brought my faith back to Indian Coke Studio, while I was skeptically listening to Season 2 tracks after the horrible first season by Leslie Lewis.

Highly Recommended! These songs got me interested in Karsh Kale, after which I ran for all of Karsh' albums. This episode will leave you craving for more of Karsh Kale songs, and unfortunately, not much has released since this episodes (a single here, a dewarists song there).

Can't wait till end of 2014, when the Karsh Kale Collectiv Album launches!

[eclecticeuphony]

Coke Studio Season 2 (2009)

Coke Studio Season 2 (2009) came as an escalated follow up of it’s first season. Season 1 featured an artist or two (along with the ‘houseband’) for an episode, and the next episode had a new artist altogether. When compared with season 1, season 2 is a massive improvement. Season 2 is also what defined Coke Studio and set standards for the world of fusion artists to follow. This music project was the first of its kind, featuring a houseband: directed and led by Rohail Hyatt (former member of the 90s supernova ‘Vital Signs’), and guest artists for every song who played / sung along with the houseband.

The songs are doubtlessly easy on the ears. It seems like the fact that an experiment like this was being carried out for the first time, made Rohail strive more and more towards perfection.

A folk-sufi singer ‘Saeen Zahoor’ being paired with the Pop-band ‘Noori’, a classically-heavy Javed Bashir adding to the groovy songs of Zeb and Haniya and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s timeless classics seamlessly blending in Atif Aslam’s dreamy singing are only a few examples of a fusion experiment that hit bull’s eye.

For Rohail Hyatt, fusion isn’t only mixing two genres of music, or getting different artists together. If a classical song is played with drums and guitar, that is also fusion. It need not be heavily contrasting or black-and-white. In fact, it needs to be just the opposite. Genres and songs and artists should blend in just right on order to achieve perfect harmony and songs that are timeless. This approach is seen through songs like ‘Aj Latha Naeeo’ by Javed Bashir, ‘Bulleya’ by Ustad Riaz Ali Khan, and ‘Kedaar’ by Noori.

This season came and hit the entire Pakistani and Indian music scene with a storm. Coke Studio became a prestige-stage. Anyone featured on Coke Studio was now guaranteed to have good songs.

There are too many songs in too many genres, ragas and moods in this season and it is hard to overall describe this season in words. And I try to do my best when I say that this season is easy on the ears: very pleasant to hear, whether the song is a happy or a melancholic one; songs are well integrated: classical, rock, blues, pop, folk - everything blends seamlessly to create timeless melodies; it is a team effort: one man cannot possibly do this. And in every song, though each artist (may it be the vocalist or a musician) has his own part to give to add to the beauty of the song. No one overpowers the other.

A special mention: Gumby, the drummer. To call him a monster on drums is understating.

My top picks:

Aankhon Ke Saagar - Shafqat Amanat Ali

Raag Yaman vocals beautifully fused with electric guitar, a soulful sarangi and haunting yet gripping backing vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7xqX51zqoM

Aj Latha Naeeo - Javed Bashir

Classically heavy vocals and violin and an all-rock backing. What a number!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZCkA4HpRn4

Rona Chor Diya - Zeb and Haniya, Javed Bashir

The song where heavy classical vocals become funky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKVQc3zSyYM

Kinara - Atif Aslam, Riaz Ali Khan

Clearly a song spawned from a jam session. Not to be missed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXGTA3X99g0

Kedaar - Noori

Oh, the vocals! You can’t sit and listen to this one. You need to be on your feet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYlFzD5MCrI

Jal Pari - Atif Aslam

That’s the one that seamlessly blends an Atif Aslam number with Nusrat’s ‘tu mera dil’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf6MsltI7lQ

[eclecticeuphony]

Grounded in Space (2008) - Advaita

There is no better way to kick start this blog than to talk about one of those albums that got me into Hindustani Classical / Fusion music. Grounded in Space by Advaita is like a fresh gush of chilly air on a scorching afternoon.

Most of this album is by the new lineup of the band, though 'Gates of Dawn' features Aditya Balani on western vocals.

This album is mellow, sweet and subtle. Though 'Ghir Ghir' is an intense Malhar in ektal and 'So Lost' is a ballad, the overall mood of the album remains calm and introspective. The kind of an album that you would like to listen to while you are on a long drive in lush green hills with pleasant and serene weather. One may call the mood a little psychedelic at a few points. But it all works in favour of making this album a big critical hit.

For those who do not know, Advaita is a Delhi based octet, and they focus on 'oneness' or 'non-duality' through their work. This 'non-duality' is subtle and deep at the same time. It is reflected through their musical arrangements of riffs played on the sarangi, staunch Hindustani classical vocals, melodic keyboards and orchestral & ambient treatment, groovy rhythms and soulful western vocals that make you relax and sit back. In it's true sense, Advaita is larger than the sum if it's parts.

Chayan Adhikari's western vocals are extremely deep and soulful, and match just right with the wisdom of Indian Classical notes that has been carried on for years. Ujwal Nagar's hindustani vocals stand out. They are crisp and perfect.

This non-duality is also reflected through their lyrics if which every word is thoroughly thought over, I'm sure. The play between Hindustani and western lyrics at times is deep. It makes you look deep inside. It also shows you where you are when you look at yourself from the outside.

Simply put, they are brilliant. Every song is different from the other in the album. And as compared to what was going on in the music scene of India back then, Advaita might have been lightyears ahead.

This album has 10 songs: each one drawing roots from Hindustani classical melodic and/or rhythmic structures coupled with amazing western arrangements.

Many music projects based on fusion spawned off in later months, but Advaita's resolve, originality and hardwork is still evident through their work. The only thing that sounds like "Grounded in Space" is "Grounded in Space".

Top picks: Ghir Ghir, Rasiya, Drops of Earth. All of them, really.

Highly recommended. Like, what are you even doing? Take your car, put in this CD and go on a long drive in the outskirts.

Even those who do not understand the technicalities of Hindustani classical music, or are casual listeners tend to love this album.

Listen to them online here:

http://advaitaonline.net/music