Hidden India

Australia's All India Radio is an Ambient Electronic/Post-Rock project helmed by songwriter/producer Martin Kennedy whose sound straddles the line between '60s psychedelia, '70s Krautrock, and contemporary styles from downtempo to chillgaze. All India Radio first gained attention issuing a series of evocative, often cinematic recordings in the 2000s, including The Inevitable, Permanent Evolutions, and The Silent Surf. All India Radio's music has been used on TV shows like CSI: Miami, One Tree Hill, The Lying Game, and Emmerdale, among others. Kennedy has also played with the Church's singer Steve Kilbey for a series albums, including 2014's sci-fi soundtrack The Rare Earth and 2017's Glow and Fade.

Australia's All India Radio is an Ambient Electronic/Post-Rock project helmed by songwriter/producer Martin Kennedy whose sound straddles the line between '60s psychedelia, '70s Krautrock, and contemporary styles from downtempo to chillgaze. All India Radio first gained attention issuing a series of evocative, often cinematic recordings in the 2000s, including The Inevitable, Permanent Evolutions, and The Silent Surf. All India Radio's music has been used on TV shows like CSI: Miami, One Tree Hill, The Lying Game, and Emmerdale, among others. Kennedy has also played with the Church's singer Steve Kilbey for a series albums, including 2014's sci-fi soundtrack The Rare Earth and 2017's Glow and Fade.

Despite an excellent debut, India.Arie still had much to prove with her second record. Several of her neo-soul compatriots, from D'Angelo to Erykah Badu to Macy Gray, had faltered with sophomore albums, and it appeared she may have already said everything she had to say on Acoustic Soul. That anticipation, and trepidation, is exactly what makes Voyage to India such a beautiful surprise; it's a record that easily equals her debut, boasting better vocal performances but also better songwriting and accompanying production. As on her debut, there is a marked balance of organic and artificial: an acoustic guitar paces many tracks, though the edges are shorn off for a digital feel; the beats are often sampled, but there are still plenty of handclaps and fingersnaps; and the arrangements are simple yet obviously very polished. The improvement in her songwriting is most obvious from the first three tracks (after the short intro). The themes driving "Little Things" (keeping it simple), "Talk to Her" (the importance of honesty, warmth, and communication in relationships), and "Slow Down" (taking life one day at a time) certainly have been covered already, many times even, but India.Arie writes with a fresh perspective that makes it sound as though she's the first to broach the topic.