Kuljit Bhamra – Essence of Raga Tala (ARC Music, 2020)
Essence of Raga Tala presents a set of timeless and mesmerizing musical pieces rooted in classical Indian tradition. Kuljit Bhamra is a renowned British tabla player, producer and composer of various film soundtracks (Bend it Like Beckham, Bhaji on the Beach, A Winter of Love). On Essence of Raga Tala, he uses a unique set of six tabla drums (the tabla normally includes two drums) tuned to the prominent notes of the particular raga scale.
Kuljit Bhamra invited well known guests to collaborate on this album who deliver stellar performances on Indian and Western musical instruments, including sitar, violin, cello, guitar and bansuri. Most of the album consists of exquisite duets. Kuljit also introduces the analog synthesizer as a solo instrument on one piece with fascinating results.
The lineup includes Kuljit Bhamra on tabla and synthesizer; M. Yogeswaran on Tamil vocals; Jonathan Mayer on sitar; Rohan Roy on violin; Priti Kaur on Punjabi vocals and swarmandal (zither); Jack Nathan Jennings on electric guitar; Siddharth Singh on acoustic guitar; Meera Raja on cello; and Robin Christian on bansuri.
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.