Loose India

Ravi Shankar - The Sounds of India (1968)
Indian Classic /Instrumental/Sitar | MP3 | CBR 192 kbps | 00:53:41 | 74 MB

This 1960s classic is a perfect introduction not only to Ravi Shankar's brilliant work on the sitar, but also to classical Indian music in general. Shankar offers brief, informative explanations of Indian ragas, scales, rhythms, song structures, and time signatures to set the stage for each spiritual piece he, Chatur Lal (tabla), and N.C. Mullick (tamboura) perform. Though Western listeners may not be able intellectually to pinpoint the subtle purposes of the various ragas' rhythms and movements, unconsciously listeners will feel them vividly. For instance, the plodding tension created by the 2/3/2/3 rhythm in "Máru-Bihág" well reflects the raga's poetic metaphor of separated, longing lovers. The loose, playful improvisation on "Sindhi-Bhairavi" mirrors the passionate romance of lovers. Overall, classical Indian music is diverse and complex, but The Sounds of India simplifies it beautifully for those interested in exploring it and its greatest ambassador.

Dutch outfit Arkus have maintained a low profile presence for three decades or so. Their first ever production was issued back in 1981, a concept album called 1914 inspired by a poem written by Bert Voeten. Initially issued as a privately pressed vinyl, this debut effort was reissued by Dutch label SI Music in 1993, and is due to that this band's most well known production. A self released CD, Win or Loose, appeared in 1991, and in 2003 a third album followed in the shape of Two of a Kind. Neither of which made much of an impact, and where the latter in particular appears to be a CD impossible to track down these days. It would appear that Arkus is still a going concern, at least if some comments on YouTube can be trusted, but this project appears to be on the backburner for the musicians involved at the time being.

Three CDs of the kind of tune that made Cream such an essential part of UK clubbing in the 1990s. And although the mixing is heavily contrived at times in order to cram fifty tracks together, who cares when the tunes are as good, and as feel good, as this?