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| Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix Band: Tabla Beat Science And the Tabla thumped on! Zakir Hussein and Talvin Singh have given us the DnB crazy but tired of typical three layerd cheesy DnB loops a great album. This album is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! (For those who Love the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!) Music is the bread, electonica/techno/DnB is jelly and Indian Tabla the peanut butter. Listening to the album is like enjoying peanut butter sandwich with a Cold glass of milk! Having disaapointed by Talvin Singhs recent offerings I was not much optimistic about this particular collaboration. However, I was rather pleasantly surprised right from the beginning of the first track (Secret Channel) till the very last track of the album. Surprisingly, I did not feel the Urge of skipping a single track. This album can indeed be listened all the way through. No filler tracks what so ever. My current favorites are track #4 titled "Don't Worry.Com", a wicked mix of Tabla along the thumping DnB lines, and track #6 titled "Devotional" a nice mix of Traditional Indian and the techno sounds. I was Glad to have bought the album. A gret way to unwind Feel Free to tell me that I'm using this CD in the wrong way - but I find it particularly good to come home from a tough day and relax with this in the background. As well as being very easy to do, it is the sort of album where you don't really feel ashamed saying that you fell asleep to it. After all, in Traditional ceremonies tablas were meant to inspire trances - and what is a Sleep if not a big trance? As far as the music here is concerned, it is great. The collective of tabla virtuosi (or Ustads - as far as I can work out) blend together almost seamlessly. I know that there are some tracks on which more than one performer is playing but I can't tell which ones these are without cheating on the liner notes. It is also very interesting to see the use of technology by each player. This ranges from Talvin Singh's sampled voice saying "Don't Worry Dot Com" on the track of the same name, right through to the strange computerised reverb on "Audiomaze". Along the way we pass vague dub basslines (provided by producer de jour Bill Laswell) and Various chants from what sound like whirling dervishes. While none of these uses of technology actually detract from anything (track or album) they do somewhat interrupt the continuity of the album - although this is a minor cosmetic problem. Apart from this, the album flows beautifully, with each track having Various intensity levels throughout which don't seem to Change with any great deal of speed - again contributing to the trance factor. Of particular note is the final performance "Alla". This is an 11 minute solo done without benefit of technology by one of the performers in memory of his late father - also a tabla master. The intricacy with which it is played and the surprising resurfacing of motifs make this a Truly awe-inspiring piece of music. In my opinion, "Alla" alone justifies the purchase of the album. In short, buy this album. As well as appreciating the cultural side of it and the Asian Underground side of it, also experience the sleep-inducing side of it. The Hybrid We Need Bill Laswell's collaboration with, amongst others, tabla vituosos Zakir Hussein, Trilok Gurtu and Talvin Singh is a winner. Besides the intense rhythmic energy generated by the players, Laswell has set about integrating the organic and synthetic elements in a Truly innovative manner. This is more than just Indian musicians jamming over sequenced backing tracks, as tabla motifs appear to trigger synths by themselves, which respond with textured bleeps that add a new dimension to the rhythmic frenzy. Laswell's long and historic involvement in the development of dub, hip-hop, drum & bass and other Electronic genres ensures that they are fused with the tabla playing in an exciting spirit of hybridisation, not in accordance with the market-friendly armchair-travel hell that is World Music. Buy Tabla Beat Science Tala Matrix at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
