Ananda Shankar – Ananda Shankar And His Music

Description

Official reissue of an iconic, exploratory album by Indian maestro of the sitar, Ananda Shankar, aptly titled ‘Ananda Shankar

And His Music’. Originally released on ‘His Master’s Voice’ in 1976, the album is a sublime collage of sitar-funk, traditional Indian classical music and psychedelic grooves, from the Indian sitarist, composer and musician.

Includes the out-there favourites ‘Streets Of Calcutta’ and ‘Dancing Drums’.

Tip-on sleeve.

 

Nephew to India’s legendary sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, Ananda’s musical family

and upbringing led to a deep respect and love of the wealth of music that emanated

from his birthplace. His travels to the west coast of America in the late ’60s though,

saw Shankar immersed in the full swing of psychedelic rock. The collision of these

two musical worlds with a whole range of other Eastern and Western influences on

‘Ananda Shankar And His Music’, is a truly entrancing combination.

 

First big in the UK in the mid-’90s jazz/rare groove club scene, when it was unearthed

by adventurous DJs and crate diggers, the sensational Indian-funk tracks ‘Streets Of

Calcutta’ and ‘Dancing Drums’ became firm dancefloor favourites. The mixture of

drum- heavy funk with Indian music and psychedelia is the perfect melting pot.

Flavourful and balanced, it still feels fresh and exciting 40 years on.

 

Like a fine wine, this album keeps getting better with age and once-overlooked tracks

are now seen in a new light. Aside from the main ‘club’ cuts that many have praised

and loved, ‘The River’ is a part blissed- out, Balearic gem, part cosmic wild west

soundtrack, that would provide the perfect complement to any sunset session.

Elsewhere, ‘Dawn’ is a spiritual and meditative journey into Indian classical music, with

‘Cyrus’ floating you away to heavenly heights. On a different tip, ‘Back Home’ fuses

styles and themes via an organ and Moog- infused, tripped- out excursion, whilst

‘Renunciation’ hits with a psych-rock sentiment to its sitar-soaked grooves.

 

A beautiful time capsule of Eastern culture meets Western influence, where

experimentation and intrigue produced a fusion of sounds that still sound as vibrant

and alluring as they have ever been.

 

Tracks:

1. Streets Of Calcutta

2. Cyrus

3. The Lonely Rider

4. The River

5. Vidai (Parting)

6. Back Home

7. Dawn

8. Renunciation

9. Dancing Drums