Review:

on 2007-09-04 dscanland Said:

In this world of music fusion and crossovers we live in, it is hard for many artists to come up with a genuine meld of music that cohesively blends disparate sounds. Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale, both Indians raised in America, successfully overcome the barrier of creating sincere music fusion. Both artists were involved in other musical endeavors before working together. Kale was the founding member of the all-star super group Tabla Beat Science, and Shankar, a 25-year-old star sitarist and composer, learned the art of music through her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar. The marked similarities in these two artists almost inevitably spelled that they would someday meet and collaborate on an album together.

The end result, Breathing Under Water, features a number of guests including Sting, Ravi Shankar and prolific Bollywood soundtrack composer Salim Merchant. The album's opening song "Burn" begins with a lone sitar sound, which later is accompanied by a funky electronic rhythm. On "Sea Dreamers," Sting's melodic voice lulls listeners into a peaceful reverie with acoustic guitar and sitar playing side to side in the background, and Anoushka's sister Norah Jones provides haunting vocals on "Easy." Breathing Under Water represents the best kind of change that can be brought about through tasteful fusion and well crafted songwriting. Thankfully you won't have to hold your breath for long to enjoy this album; you'll soon be breathing underwater.