If you're yet to be dazzled by the power of Ananda Shankar, you're in for a heck of a treat. This impossibly groovy mid-70s sitar-funk-meets-Indian-classical gem could only have come from one magical man, and now Mr Bongo is making Ananda Shankar And His Music available for one and all. Wrap your ears around Streets of Calcutta and you'll be sold, that's our Flying Out guarantee! - Flying Out
Mr Bongo proudly presents an official reissue of an iconic, exploratory album by Indian maestro of the sitar, Ananda Shankar, aptly titled Ananda Shankar And His Music.
Released on His Master's Voice in 1976, the album is a sublime collage of sitar-funk, traditional Indian classical music and psychedelic grooves, from the Indian sitarist, composer and musician. Nephew to India’s legendary sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, Ananda’s musical family and upbringing led to a deep respect and love of the wealth of music that emanated from his birthplace. His travels to the west coast of America in the late ‘60s though, saw Shankar immersed in the full swing of psychedelic rock. The collision of these two musical worlds with a whole range of other Eastern and Western influences on Ananda Shankar And His Music, is a truly entrancing combination.
First big in the UK in the mid-‘90s jazz/rare groove club scene, when it was unearthed by adventurous DJs and crate diggers, the sensational Indian-funk tracks Streets Of Calcutta and Dancing Drums became firm dancefloor favourites. The mixture of drum-heavy funk with Indian music and psychedelia is the perfect melting pot. Flavourful and balanced, it still feels fresh and exciting nearly 50 years on.
Like a fine wine, this album keeps getting better with age and once-overlooked tracks are now seen in a new light. Aside from the main 'club' cuts that many have praised and loved, The River is a part blissed-out, Balearic gem, part cosmic wild west soundtrack, that would provide the perfect complement to any sunset session. Elsewhere, Dawn is a spiritual and meditative journey into Indian classical music, with Cyrus floating you away to heavenly heights. On a different tip, Back Home fuses styles and themes via an organ and Moog-infused, tripped-out excursion, whilst Renunciation hits with a psych-rock sentiment to its sitar-soaked grooves.
A beautiful time capsule of Eastern culture meets Western influence, where experimentation and intrigue produced a fusion of sounds that still sound as vibrant and alluring as they have ever been.
Tracklist:
1. Streets Of Calcutta
2. Cyrus
3. The Lonely Rider
4. The River
5. Vidai (Parting)
6. Back Home
7. Dawn
8. Renunciation
9. Dancing Drums
