22º of Beatitude
Tarun Nayar has been making musical hybrids as part of the critically acclaimed Delhi 2 Dublin. His solo effort shows Tarun’s ability at creating edgy cross cultural mix of electronic dance music and acoustic sounds.
22º of Beatitude is fascinating exploration of the musics of various parts of Asia through the eyes of a leading figure in new global eletronica. Tarun compiled 10 years of material for 22º of Beatitude which he describes as his most personal work to date.
The pieces were assembled from recording sessions with artists throughout the globe. 22º of Beatitude includes temples in Bhutan, street corners in Tokyo and even an intimate conversation between the artist and his grandmother.
Tarun, who is an accomplished tabla player, recorded as many of the sounds as possible in a live format, rather than using sample libraries. Some of the best cuts on the album include Indian musical elements.
As a part of Delhi 2 Dublin, Tarun has toured the globe and played some of North America’s biggest festivals. He produced their two full length albums that went to the Top 3 on the Canadian world music charts.
Tarun Nayar was born in Montreal, Canada. He began learning music in the Indian Classical tradition in his childhood, with his teacher Narendra Verma. In his teens, Tarun discovered the sound of the Asian Underground, and soon thereafter started experimenting with electronic fusion and DJing.
He is heavily influenced by people like Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Cheb i Sabbah, and great tabla masters like Ustad Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain. Though he now spends much of his time working with fusion projects, he remains committed to performing and teaching Indian Classical music.
Tarun relocated to Western Canada and is a founding member of Vancouver’s Beats Without Borders DJ collective. His artistic name there is DJ TSpoon. Beats Without Borders is made up of 4 global beats DJs, who spin & produce eclectic blends of dance music, with sounds from around the globe.
In May 2010 Tarun blended Akon’s ‘Beautiful’ with UK producer Swami’s ‘Sugarless’ in a mashup that received heavy airplay in the UK. He also recently scored ‘BAS! Beyond The Red Light’, a documentary on the lives of women in one of Mumbai’s red light districts.
Together with partner Umar Akbar he also runs the cutting edge global electronica label and blog Chaiwalla’s Boombox.
Available from chaiwallasboombox.com
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
