islander, med student in bordeaux, france.
#1S1D stands for '1 Song 1 Day.'
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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Robert Gupta: Music is medicine, music is sanity
Robert Gupta, violinist with the LA Philharmonic, talks about a violin lesson he once gave to a brilliant, schizophrenic musician — and what he learned. Called back onstage later, Gupta plays his own transcription of the prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1.
Gil Scott-Heron, I <3 You.
2009 Best Albums
his top 10. This is tough job. I’ve gone through countless records this year but few have remained for long on my ipod. In fact, I cannot really make a top 10 while knowing since January 2009 that nobody would make a better album than Delhi-6 other than A.R. Rahman himself. Let’s say, Blue just didn’t reach that level. So yes, the winner is *drumroll* A.R. Rahman for Delhi-6 ! These are the songs I’ve listened to and sung the most. In fact, Rehna Tu is the best song of the year, in my opinion.
Remember, this represents solely my musical taste. I’ve been trying since the later half of this year to single out my monthly best. These albums, plus my listening stats at lastfm, have been useful in drafting this top of 2009.
You’re most welcome to refute my choice. If there’s something I’ve missed, please add it in the comments. Obviously, each person is listening to something else on his ipod. We are all in our own micro-genres. I love this diversity, but I’d also like this diversity to be shared. Never be ashamed of your musical taste.
OK, the number 1 spot is already fixed. I’ll just mention the rest now. First, I won’t go the Mauritian radio way of having two distinct categories: a top Indian and a top Occidental. I’ve just listed below the albums that I’ve found interesting this year and wouldn’t mind listening over again. Here’s my top of 2009:
Special mentions for:A.R. Rahman - Delhi-6
Abraham Inc. - Tweet Tweet
Advaita - Grounded in Space
Amit Trivedi - Dev.D
Anouar Brahem – The Astounding Eyes Of Rita
Avishai Cohen - Aurora
Balmorhea - All Is Wild, All Is Silent
Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
Charlie Winston - Hobo
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be
Dhruv - Distance
The Dodos - Time To Die
Fink - Sort of Revolution
Imogen Heap - Ellipse
Just Jack - All Night Cinema
K’Naan - Troubadour
Kailash Kher - Kailasa Chaandan Mein (& Yatra - Nomadic Souls)
Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
Megafaun - Gather, Form & Fly
Mekaal Hasan Band - Saptak
Mùm - Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know
Noah And The Whale – The First Days Of Spring
Peter Broderick - 4 Track Songs
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Piyush Mishra - Gulaal
Regina Spektor - Far
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy - Luck by Chance
The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Vishal Bhardwaj - Kaminey
Vishal-Shekhar - Aladin
Volcano Choir - Unmap
Yodelice - Tree of Life
Amit Trivedi: He has brought much needed fresh tunes to Indian cinema. He’s been called the next Rahman since Dev.D and he deserves it.
Justin Vernon: Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) could easily make it to the best of the decade. So bad, I was late to discover it. Thankfully, Volcano Choir didn’t deceive either with Unmap.
The Swell Season: The band to whom I gave the most exposure this year. Strict Joy is a new collection of simple yet pounding love songs after the soundtrack for ONCE. I wish they had more exposure in France.¨
Piyush Mishra: This actor/composer/dialogue writer/lyricist and what else should be showered with awards for his work with Anurag Kashyap for the movie Gulaal.
The Dodos: I particularly enjoyed Time to Die. While most credit has gone to Animal Collective this year in the psychedelic folk genre, I’ve been mostly drawn to this little energetic band which goes with less instruments for a greater effect.
Kailash Kher: I didn’t listen to a lot a Indipop this year but Kailasa Chaandan Mein was one of the few. It took me some time to enjoy the songs. Now I keep adding stars to them every now and then. Third album and the band is still going strong!
That’s it. 30+ records for you to check out and for me to enjoy again.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
Kanya - a quick Sunday afternoon mixtape on 8tracks.
Chal Bulleya | Mekaal Hasan Band
album: Saptak (2009)
Sajana | Niraj Chag
album: Along The Dusty Road (2006)
See It All | Fink
album: Sort Of Revolution (2009)
Tidal | Imogen Heap
album: Ellipse (2009)
Recurring | Bonobo
album: Days To Come (2006)
Kanya | Niraj Chag
album: Along The Dusty Road (2006)
True Skool | Coldcut
album: Sound Mirrors (2006)
This Sweet Love | James Yuill
album: Turning Down Water for Air (2007)
God Moving over the Face of the Waters | Moby
album: I Like to Score (1997)
Check out all my previous mixes at http://8tracks.com/adarsh
Kings of Convenience - Declaration of De
Vishal-Shekhar - Aladin
Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale - Breathin
Volcano Choir - Unmap (2009)
Kailasa - Yatra (Nomadic Souls) (2009)
Monthly Top 5 - October 2009
Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence (2009)
I fell in love with this Norwegian duo after watching the video for Boat Behind. They’re delicate and calm. They’re perfect for a quiet time. My French folks will love this one. | Spotify | Deezer
A voir: Soirée de Poche Kings of Convenience
Aladin - Vishal-Shekhar (2009)
I haven’t enjoyed a Bollywood soundtrack for a while. This is authentic Vishal-Shekhar material. Just like Om Shanti Om and Dostana, Aladin is a successful ensemble which does justice to an Aladin movie à la Bollywood and above all, an Amitabh Bachchan starrer.
However, I’ll have to add here that Sonu Niigaam is right: the best songs are for the composers themselves (here it’s You May Be). Also having both the Big B and Sanjay Dutt crooning means less opportunity for these wonderful playback singers.
Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale - Breathing Under Water (2007)
I saw the record in the library this month and I thought I’d go back and live the voyage once again. This is a collaboration album that respects the talents of all the participants, whether it’s Norah Jones, Ravi Shankar, Sting, Shankar Mahadevan or Sunidhi Chauhan. It’s the best you can get from the sitar in a modern setting. | Spotify | Deezer
Volcano Choir - Unmap (2009)Another win for Bon Iver leader Justin Vernon. This album is a must-buy for this year. I’m enjoying the way these haunting voices are slowly winning over me. | Spotify
Kailash Kher & Kailasa - Yatra (Nomadic Souls) (2009)
This record is the ideal one to reach the US after the Slumdog wave. His sufi style and nusrat-like voice has definitely pleased. He’s made it to the Hollywood Bowl and was on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic early this month. I wish him and his band great international success. | Spotify | Bandcamp
Related Posts on adarsh.me :
Leslie Helpert, Serpentfly in Bordeaux
I’m just back from Tchai Bar, my most common rendez-vous point in Bordeaux. Tonight I went in for a sitar-guitar-tabla show (which I mentioned early this week). To be frank, I was in to see the talented Mark Brenner play the sitar, but I made a great discovery – Leslie Herpert.
From her myspace:
Helpert has composed over 1000 pieces of music and has performed in over 200 venues. Most recently (2008) she was endorsed by the ministry of cultural affairs in Bermuda as the first musician-in-resident. Additionally, Helpert internationally performs tributes to Billie Holiday. She is a teacher of voice and yoga as well as a spoken word poet, dancer, beat-boxer, illustrator, voice teacher and novelist; her music is informed by the entirety of her artwork. She has recorded 4 full length albums spanning the years of 1999-2008. She has played in places ranging from CBGB’s in New York to Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland, CA, and theaters such as Théåtre Lino-Ventura in Nice, France, The Boulder Theater in Colorado and The Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia. Her guitar is her compass.Great husky voice. She’s got her own frivolous style and her lyrics made me sit back and smile. The sitar-guitar improvisations were pretty impressive as well. I’ve got in hand her 17-track EU Sampler which I’ll most certainly listen next morning during my commute.
Here’s the setting. A small cave in old Bordeaux, Mark Brenner on sitar and veena; Leslie Herpert on acoustic guitar and sometimes bass guitar; and a tabla player, stuck on keherwa taal most of the time. No mic: just the 3 musicians and some 30 persons in a intimate warm setting with our tchais and other infusions. I feel privileged to have been there.
Leslie recorded an EP in Barcelona in August. It’ll be available in December on iTunes.
The [blue gorgeous] escapists (from self-made/engineered 4th album)
myspace.com/serpentfly
The Dodo's - Time To Die
Menwar - Ay Ay Lolo
Megafaun - Gather, Form & Fly
A.R. Rahman - Delhi-6
Yodelice - Tree of Life
Piyush Mishra - Gulaal
Bonus - The Swell Season
Monthly Top 5 August 2009 (Ok It’s 6…)
The Dodos - Time To Die (2009)
I discovered The Dodos on Last.fm. It’s true that the name caught my eyes at first…but the music of their 1st album Visiter grasped my attention quite fast. I really enjoy their energy and the way they’ve mastered the rhythms. | Spotify
Menwar - Ay Ay Lolo (2006)
This extraordinary figure on the Mauritian music scene has used Afro-punk and traditional sega instruments while keeping an irrefutable modern style to his songs. He is the true ambassador of Mauritian music. | Deezer | Musicme
Megafaun - Gather, Form & Fly (2009)
This is the much anticipated 2nd album from a band that hundreds have experienced on scene. It’s American folk with an impressive blend of experimentation with chaotic field recordings. | Spotify | Deezer
A.R. Rahman - Delhi-6 (2009)
I went on to watch Delhi-6 a 3rd time this month and listened to the album again. I said in January that the best album of 2009 might already have come out and I still stand on that.
Yodelice - Tree of Life (2009)
I was given ‘Sunday With a Flu’ to listen to by a friend and I ended up listening to the entire album. Very enjoyable acoustic ballads by this French guy I never heard of before. | Spotify | Deezer
Piyush Mishra - Gulaal (2009)
Gulaal is a masterpiece in terms of dialogues, storyline and music. Piyush Mishra has been involved at all steps, including acting! Simply, yet beautiful songs with powerful lyrics have been delivered for this Anurag Kashyap flick revolving around politics among the Rajputs.
BONUS: NPR Tiny Desk Concert by Swell Season
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are back after the soundtrack for the movie ONCE. Their new album ‘Strict Joy’ is releasing soon and they really had a good time presenting it at NPR.
Related Posts on adarsh.me :
After Dooriyan, here comes MixTape.me Playlist 02 which I’ve called Night Song (after Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 1996 album).
This compilation has the song Duniya by Piyush Mishra as starting point. I tried to stay in that same mood throughout the playlist. These are songs meant as a quiet late night pleasure with artists like Nitin Sawhney, A.R. Rahman, Beirut, Bon Iver and Balmorhea.
Sit back and enjoy.
2009 Top Albums So Far
July is coming to an end. Time for a short recap of the music albums that, in my opinion, left a good impression in 2009 so far. For this list, i’m taking a look at my last.fm charts, my iTunes library and at the albums I’ve bookmarked on Spotify.
I tried hard to find a way to classify the records: according to genres, geographically.. but i’ll simply hand it out alphabetically. Music has gone truly global now. Just bear in mind that I’m a guy from the island of Mauritius, currently in France, fan of everything that blends with Indian music, and who’s recently developed a certain liking for post-rock instrumentals ever since he discovered Sigur Rós. That’s a pretty good description of my musical world right now.
A.R. Rahman Delhi-6 A.R. Rahman NOKIA Connections Advaita Grounded in Space Amit Trivedi Dev.D Avishai Cohen Aurora Balmorhea All Is Wild, All Is Silent Bikram Ghosh Little Zizou Dhruv Ghanekar Distance Caravan Palace Caravan Palace Charlie Wilson Hobo Kailash Kher Kailasa Chaandan Mein Kasabian West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Niraj Chag The Lost Souls Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Luck by Chance Vishal Bhardwaj Kaminey Years Of Rice And Salt Service Bell EP
I’m curious to see how this list will look like at the end of the year. Making a top 10 will be hectic!
So what did I miss?
