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Album Details

• Artist: Various Artists
• Album: Sounds Of The Indian Snake Charmer
• Label: Hanson
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-02-23

A review of this record must beg the question: what does bad snake charming music sound like? How would I know? Is music designed for a utilitarian purpose to be judged solely on aesthetics? I mean, if the composition designed to turn on the snake turns him on, does it matter if I think the tune sucks? Does it matter if the cracker at the organ in church has no chops at all if the listener can still praise the lord to his wooden groove?
This is a recording of the Nepalese family of snake charmers, the Naths. Recorded by Wolf Eyes’ Aaron Dilloway in Nepal, it features drones and harsh percussion that at once sound distinct to the region and psychedelic and drone-y. As with a good raga, you can definitely see colors and become deeply involved in the rhythm, regardless of your cultural frames of reference. The key instrument here is the Punji, a bamboo reed-type instrument, and its drone is compelling and hypnotic. When it comes down to it, the most trustworthy frame of reference for music is the heart. You can take that too far I suppose and use it to make a case that Nelly or The Eagles are geniuses because the heart says so; that’s maybe more a case of learning to love what is played so often you think it must be good. The real heart, though, is the one that takes a risk on a sound because it is so familiar at first listen, like you were meant to hear it. Thus snake charming music. I can’t evaluate it for a course at the conservatory, but I can tell you its grooves and melodies make perfect sense to me.

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