narenmusic

By Narendra Kusnur  Album: Paperboats Artistes: Bickram Ghosh, Kala Ramnath Genre: Indo-fusion Label: Self-released Rating: **** One of the most prolific tabla players in the Hindustani classical field, tabla exponent Bickram Ghosh is also known for his Indo-fusion and percussion-based projects. Albums like Rhythmscape, Drum Invasion, Beyond Rhythmscape and Electro Classical have been admired by connoisseurs and lay listeners alike. On his latest project Paperboats , Ghosh teams up with brilliant Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath and a host of world music artistes to create a fine amalgam of raag-based melodies, jazz inflections and world music sounds. Ramnath shows amazing technique and brings out the right emotions. Paperboats  has seven compositions. The title track, which is themed around innocence and the need to express love, features marvellous vocals by Afghan artiste Elaha Soroor, besides the haunting woodwind instrument duduk. Egyptian-American pianis...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Hollywood's Bleeding Artiste: Post Malone Genre: Trap, pop Label: Republic Records Rating: *** American star Post Malone got a superb response for his first two albums Stoney  and Beerbongs And Bentleys . By smartly fusing trap music with pop and doses of alternative rock, and by avoiding hardcore rapping, he has managed to reach out to a wider section of young listeners. His latest album Hollywood's Bleeding  has peaked the Billboard 200 charts. While it features a large gang of rappers on different songs, the presence of rock superstar Ozzy Osbourne on ‘Take What You Want’ comes in as a surprise. With a smooth rock-style electric guitar solo, it also seems quite out of place. There are a few paradoxes in this album. One is that while the basic tunes are catchy and melodic, 14 of the 17 songs have been marked explicit. Secondly, while each song has a clear hook, there's a lot of sameness about many tracks. At best, this can be good...

Pic courtesy: Official Leonard Cohen website By Narendra Kusnur  Film: Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr Leonard Cohen Director: Donald Brittain Genre: Documentary/ personality Details: Available on myNK, a video-on-demand movie streaming platform Rating: **** On September 21, Leonard Cohen would have turned 85. We all know the Canadian legend, who passed away on November 7 2016, as an exceptional songwriter and powerful singer, giving us gems like ‘Suzanne’, ‘Sisters Of Mercy’, ‘Hallelujah’, ‘So Long Marianne’, ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’, ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’ and ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’. A lot has been written and documented about his music, and even his later admiration for Indian spirituality. Growing up in Westmount, Quebec, Cohen began his early career as a poet, and for a brief while, turned to writing novels. His poetry is the subject of the 1965 documentary Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr Leonard Cohen,  directed by Donald Brittain and Don Owen. Naturally, it ...

By Narendra Kusnur Event: Namo Fusion promotional tour Artistes: Dr Narayan Raman, Sarosh Izedyar and group Genre: Indo-fusion Details: The Stables, Andheri East, September 10 Rating: **** The melodic Carnatic violin theme made way for an improvised keyboard stretch, before the snazzy guitar solo. Based on raag  Saramati, the tune ‘Namo’ instantly had visitors at The Stables, Andheri East, tapping their feet. ‘Namo’ is the title track of the first studio album by the group Namo Fusion, the brainchild of violinist Dr Narayan Raman and guitarist Sarosh Izedyar. Though it has been available on digital streaming platforms from August 27, it was formally launched on September 10 by singer Shaan, who described the album as a “beautiful effort in bringing back musicality.” The event also flagged off the group’s promotional tour. The presentation was compered by Dishti Thakker. The other musicians comprised keyboardist George Joseph, bassist Vaibhav Jadhav, saxophonist-...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Free Artiste: Iggy Pop Genre: Punk Label: Caroline International Rating: *** James Newell Osterberg Jr, better known as Iggy Pop, has often been described as the godfather of punk-rock. It all began in the late 1960s when his band The Stooges created waves with its distinct sound and angry, rebellious songs. Iggy later collaborated with David Bowie, and influenced many artistes like the Damned, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Joy Division and even Nirvana. The American musician never sold in large numbers, but a few things defined his persona, besides the fact that he was an under-rated role model. One, he was a flashy showman, quite often performing bare-chested. He was one of the early practitioners of the stage dive, where the artiste dangerously jumped into the crowd. Third, he has one of the most booming baritones in rock, somewhat in the Leonard Cohen mould, and it's something which hasn't wavered even at the age of 72. On his latest ...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Fear Inoculum Artiste: Tool Genre: Progressive metal Label: RCA Rating: ***** This is one cracker of an album. Only progressive metal giant Tool could come up with an 87-minute collection of songs, and manage to keep your interest alive not once, but on every subsequent listening too. Their fifth studio outing, Fear Inoculum  comes a good 13 years after the Los Angeles band’s last release 10,000 Days.  And come to think of it, five albums in a 26-year career clearly doesn't seem like a prolific discography, even with the extremely popular Lateralus  still appearing on playlists. Yet, their fans waited patiently, and Tool has delivered in style. Naysayers may pinpoint flaws other than the sheer length. There's a lot of material here that reminds one of earlier beauties like ‘Schism’, ‘Sober’, 'Ticks and Leeches' and ‘Parabola’. There are obvious influences of King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree and a few ...