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Album Review
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22º of Beatitude presents itself as a tribute to musician Tarun Nayar's long experience of making music around the world. The debut solo effort from the Delhi 2 Dublin member is all about a fusion of sounds: cross-cultural style thrown into a mesh of electronica. An expansive variety of world sounds like sitars, tabla drums, and zithers also get put to work over beats both contemplative and quickening.
You can't really call 22º of Beatitude a dance album, even with its faster moving pieces. "Call to Prayer," for example, stands out with its strange mix, combining some of the sounds of Islamic prayer with the pulsing bass of house music. Though that's as odd a combination as you'll find on this album, it doesn't fall flat. "Turkish Spice," another later track, continues in the same vein, fusing a techno vibe with the videogame-inspired sound effects of chiptune.
Another standout blend emerges on the second track "Kezang La," which again adds modern drumbeats to traditional singing to create a kind of Indian hip-hop. You can feel the cross-cultural passion in how the eclectic mix of instruments from different parts of the world create sounds you've never heard before. It's something most world music tries to capture, but Nayar makes it work prodigiously. A boundary-crossing album like this doesn't come by often enough, and should be heard by as many people willing to listen.
03/07/11
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