Western Artists And India

Still untouched by human settlement barely 500 years ago, the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Rodrigues and the Seychelles were colonized by Europeans (French, English and Dutch) from the end of the 16th century on and operated as trading posts on the Indian route. Slaves were deported from Africa and Madagascar to cultivate coffee, spices and sugar cane. On the margins of the plantations, during clandestine gatherings, they exorcised their daily lives through percussion, singing and dancing. It is the tschiéga, chéga or sega, from Mozambique and Malagasy influence.

The new Unexplained Sounds Group’s compilation of exploratory music and sound works from India intends to present a comprehensive collection of sonic practices that have emerged from the desire to break away from India’s traditional sounds, e.g. classical music and folk tunes, while simultaneously drawing on ideas and inspirations from these lineages and auditory heritages in the form of recurring motifs and sonorities as well as textures and open-ended compositions. The fragile but complex connection between tradition and modernity is the crucial point of entry in this body of works contributed by Indian-born sound artists and experimental musicians. What is ‘sound art’ and what is ‘experimental’ can be debated at length, but sound art is a Western construct, and experiment is something Indian musicians have long been engaged in whilst keeping their traditions alive and transformative. What is new in this compilation is locating the tension between historical trajectories of sound thinking and the intervention of modernist technologies like recording and mixing that the artists continue to negotiate through their interpretations and reconfigurations of temporality and spatiality.

Celebrate the American Western with these fabulous tracks!The Sons of the Pioneers with eight rare takes including themes from the classic Wagon Train, The Restless Gun, River of No Return, Cheyenne, & The Last Frontier.The Andrews Sisters' My Love Went Without Water, issued ONLY in India, now available again! Also, Mule Train (with Dick Haymes) and Quicksilver (with Bing Crosby).Tex Ritter: the dramatic The Wayward Wind, The Searchers, The Last Wagon.Roy Rogers & Dale Evans: five tracks of The Old West by The King of the Cowboys and The Queen of the West!More drama from Gordon MacRae, Patti Page, Peggy Lee!

For many centuries Indonesia, from the Malay Peninsula throughout the vast archipelago, has been subjected to successive foreign cultural invasions which have left their deep imprint on the indigenous way of life. Among the first was the Mongolian intrusion from central Asia. A later cultural wave came from India when Hindu merchants and immigrants introduced Hinduism and Buddhism into the islands. Subsequently, about the 13th century A.D. Islamic influences penetrated the archipelago. Finally in the 16th century, Western culture and Christianity came into the picture. Although, after four centuries, Western civilization has by no means superseded the Islamic hold on Indonesia (90% of the population are Muslims), it has already reshaped the outward appearance of Indonesia life to a considerably extent. The cultural diversity is naturally reflected in the music.

The NID Tapes’ presents a collection of early Indian electronic music uncovered at the archives of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. Recorded between 1969-1972 the compilation chronicles electronic works from the previously unknown Indian composers Gita Sarabhai, I.S. Mathur, Atul Desai, S.C. Sharma and Jinraj Joshipura who worked at the nation’s first electronic music studio founded at the NID during the utopian years following India’s independence - a radical period of visionary experimentation and artistic free-thought.