So there's this British guy in Singapore named Paul. He's a recording and mastering engineer on my other forum. In his spare time, he writes his own arrangements using MIDI instruments and rhythm programs. He calls these experiments "Nagraans"...something to do with an alien word for "antennae" in some sci-fi novel. Recently, he got a contract offering licensing with Times Music of India, the largest music distribution group in India. Big ups to him. They also put up some cash for him to make a video for a track called "Babu Di Jheere Chaina" Pretty cool...check it out. http://www.calamitystudio.com/video/Babu.wmv
Cool track. I love middle eastern music. The older you get the more tiresome the cliches of western pop music become, so anything a little different is always welcome. A friend living in India recently sent me a DVD collection of mujra and qawalis. Once you get used to the somewhat alien structure of the music it becomes quite addictive. Your friend really stumbled onto something, there are a million of these classic tracks from old movies. I'm sure he could make a permanent career into re-editing all of that old footage into music videos. Colour me jealous as hell. This is my fave track on the DVD my buddy sent me (is everything available on YouTube???). If you have the patience to sit through the whole thing it's really quite the impressive jam. Na karvan ki <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-hWNe9BeErU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-hWNe9BeErU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> PS: "So there's this British guy in Singapore named Paul." sounds like the beginning of a bad joke
Here's another great qawali (could this chick be any more beautiful...um no) In Ankhon Ki Masti <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LfZf-PBZHP8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LfZf-PBZHP8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Hey Avvie.. I must have watched that MMW vid half a dozen times yesterday... that thing was smokin. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. I saw them on that tour in Montreal; Jazzy french girls, great music... I thought my head might explode
"Alien" is a good term for the structure. I've never looked at Indian culture closely, but it does seem to be more colorful and elaborate than I thought it to be. The chicks are definately beautiful and sexy The actress in "Babu Di Jheere Chaina" is quite alluring. It can be hard to get used to the unusually high pitch that the women sing in. That MMW vid you sent me is way cool...thanks for the ref. I'm gonna be looking for some more of that.
For some reason I thought you already listened to Medeski, Martin and Wood. Damn, my failing memory :grrr: . If you're looking for a decent MMW CD to rip "Last Chance to Dance Trance (perhaps)" is an excellent compilation of their funkiest grooves recorded from 91 through 96. My initial foray into Indian music has offered a pretty steep learning curve. They even retail their music differently. Most of the music is available strictly through soundtracks of movies (as opposed to albums by individual artists). It's funny when I asked about the chick in the second video I posted, and if she had any albums available they looked at me like I was from another planet. My impression is that most musical acts are considered entertainers (rather than simply musicians) and very few will release studio albums of new material. Some of the upper echelon Bollywood stars have released compilations of their movie hits, but that is the rare exception. Otherwise you're forced to buy entire soundtracks to hunt down the individual songs you may be looking for.
I like Babu Di Jheere Chaina a lot & don't mind Na karvan ki. After hearing 'Babu' you guys might like David Holmes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Holmes_(musician)
