Kiran Ahluwalia
Kiran Ahluwalia (Triloka Records, 2005)
It’s a long time since we’ve heard ghazal in a crossed-over format as good as
this. The blend of western and eastern musicians, instruments and styles gels
perfectly behind
Kiran
Ahluwalia’s impeccable vocal delivery, the like of which we’ve not heard
since Najma Akhtar’s groundbreaking series for Triple Earth records back in the
late 80s/early 90s. Kiran was born & raised in Toronto, Canada’s most
successfully integrated city and scene of a growing world music network which
brings together musicians from many diverse cultures. The ever-so-subtle
coalescence of instrumentation, under the direction of producers of Andrew
Hurlbut and Rez Abbasi brings together instruments from the Indian classical
tradition, such as sarangi, tanpura, harmonium and a variety of percussion with
guitar, fiddle and kit drums. Kiran’s vocal touch has all of the delicacy and intricacy of the finest
classically-trained singers, her ability to slide through scales with quiet
potency stands her out as a sublime performer. Supernatant in the mix, the
clarity and consistency of her vocal tone sustains the interest throughout this
long set of 10 (mostly) self-penned songs. The arrangements develop nicely and
the mid-to-dance pace set on most of the songs is an encouragement to the feet
as well as the ear. With brief but informative sleeve notes and lyrics in
original Punjabi & Urdu and, thankfully, in English translation to further
enhance one’s enjoyment.
A softly-tread entry onto the international stage and a sign of great things to
come from this beautiful young singer.
A different perspective of the same album:
Enthralling Ghazals
