narenmusic

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Night Prayer Artiste: Gundecha Brothers Genre: Hindustani classical dhrupad Label: Felmay Rating: **** The death of vocalist Ramakant Gundecha on the evening of Friday, November 8, has come as a huge shock to Hindustani classical followers. The tragedy happened too suddenly at the Habibganj railway station, Bhopal, as the maestro had a heart attack while travelling with his brother Umakant to Pune for a concert, before heading to Mumbai for the day-long 8 Prahar festival. The Gundecha Brothers have been at the forefront of the dhrupad vocal style since the late 1980s, following the Dagar Vani tradition created by the renowned Dagar Brothers. The oldest form of Hindustani vocal music, this gayaki  preceded the popular khayal format, and has also influenced certain styles of instrumental music. Besides the Gundecha Brothers, Uday Bahawalkar of Pune has earned recognition for carrying the Dagar Vani vocal style forward. Apart from being proli...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Cry Artiste: Cigarettes After Sex Genre: Ambient pop, shoegaze Label: Partisan Records Rating: ** 1/2 American dream-pop band Cigarettes After Sex had a sold-out show in Mumbai earlier this year. Obviously, the effeminate-voiced frontman Greg Gonzalez and his team acquired a large following after their self-titled 2017 debut, thanks largely to its laid-back, ambient sound and songs that talked of heartbreak. Songs from the debut album are available on YouTube. The group's second album Cry  moves pretty much in the same direction, though sadly, a lot of monotony and repetitiveness creep in here. It takes a while to get a hang of the tunes, which all sound like cousins of each other. Clubbed under the ‘shoegaze’ sub-genre of alternative music, the songs have atmospheric effects and distorted guitars, with clear influences of new age, smooth jazz and alternative rock band Mazzy Star. Gonzalez’ voice is soulful on some tracks and bland on the ...

By Narendra Kusnur Book: A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives Author: David Hepworth Genre: Vinyl records Publisher: Penguin Random House, UK Rating: **** Slowly but surely, the long-playing record or LP has made it back into the collections of aficionados. There was a time, of course, when it was the main means of music consumption, besides the radio. British journalist David Hepwortth, who has written for music magazines Smash Hits, Q and Mojo, looks back that that golden era when LP was king. Appropriately, A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives  focuses on the years between 1967, when the Beatles released their iconic Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band , to 1982, when Michael Jackson made waves with Thriller  . Most audiophiles have their own stories of collecting or exchanging vinyl records. Likewise, Hepworth mentions a series of personal anecdotes, but what makes his account different is his description of how the LP became a lifesty...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Colorado Artiste: Neil Young and Crazy Horse Genre: Rock, Americans Label: Reprise Records Rating: **** By releasing his 39th studio album Colorado , Canadian star Neil Young has inched past Bob Dylan’s tally of 38. But unlike Dylan, whose voice and songwriting style changed considerably over the years, Young has remained more or less the same in these areas. One of the main attractions of Colorado  is the reappearance of multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren in Young’s on-and-off backing band Crazy Horse, after some 47 years. The regular bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina continue to hold the rhythm section. Like with any new release by Young, irrespective of whether he's assisted by Crazy Horse or not, Colorado comes with plenty of expectations. One may instantly complain that it isn’t in the same class as earlier masterpieces like After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Comes A Time, Zuma, Old Ways, Harvest Moon and Mirrorball.  And ...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Sun On Sand Artistes: Joshua Redman & Brooklyn Rider Genre: Chamber jazz Label: Nonesuch Records Rating: ***** Joshua Redman is one of the most versatile saxophonists of the 21st century, displaying mastery over the tenor, alto and soprano forms. The winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991, he has often shown a ready desire to experiment. Earlier this year, Redman led a quartet on Come What May,  a collection of seven tunes he wrote. On his latest sojourn Sun On Sand,  he is joined by the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet to play compositions from a suite written by Patrick Zimmerli. Sun On Sand  is a highly innovative collaboration, also featuring double bassist Scott Colley and drummer Satoshi Takeisha. As a sub-genre, one could classify it as avant garde jazz, new age, jazz crossover or chamber jazz. With the string quartet featuring two violins, viola and cello, the musicians combine to c...

By Narendra Kusnur  Album: When It's Time Artiste: Blackstratblues Genre: Instrumental blues-rock Label: Self-released Rating: *** 1/2 After fronting Mumbai rock band Zero, Warren Mendonsa turned solo with Blackstratblues, playing his guitar-based compositions. The project has had a good following on the live circuit, and regular recordings have attracted fans over the past 12 years. The fifth Blackstratblues album When It's Time   was released last month to mark Mendonsa’s 40th birthday. Joining him are keyboardist Beven Fonseca, drummer Adi Mistry and drummer Jai Row Kavi, with saxophonist Sid Vashi appearing on the concluding title track. When It's Time  is a concept album on how life progresses in five-year spans till the age of 40. Though the base is blues-rock, one finds doses of funk and modern jazz, and even influences of guitarists like Carlos Santana, Lee Ritenour and John Scofield. The album begins with a countdown by a young girl (Mendon...

By Narendra Kusnur Book: Maestros And Their Music Author: John Mauceri Genre: Western classical Publisher: Vintage Books Rating: **** When one talks of conductors, many Indians immediately think of Mumbai-born Zubin Mehta. Hardcore classical aficionados would mention Leonard Bernstein and Herbert Von Karajan. The conductor performs a very crucial role in nurturing an orchestra, and unlike what many think, his job involves much more than standing with one’s back to the orchestra, waving a baton and finally taking a bow. In his book Maestros And Their Music , senior conductor John Mauceri goes into granular detail about “the art and alchemy of conducting”. To be sure, this isn’t a layman’s guide on the subject or a plain description of important pieces conducted by various masters. There is a lot of technical detail, specially while explaining how certain conductors approached certain compositions. The ideal reader would be someone who’s been involved in classical music...