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| Nitin Sawhney - Human ( Released late Oct 03 ) |
| Posted on 10/10/03 at 01:24 by bog-eye |
With 'Beyond Skin', 'Prophesy' and now 'Human', Nitin Sawhney has produced a trilogy of albums based on faith, hope and trust and what it means to be a minority in a majority. The fraility of human emotion and the sheer stupidity of the human species are themes that Sawhney also continues to explore.
The spare artwork (photo of human face and body parts pressed against thin white plastic sheet) is stunning and a bit of a giveaway as to the rawness of emotion on the album. In many ways it is similar to the artwork of the the breakthrough (and Mercury award winning) 'Beyond Skin' and similar themes are contained within.
The album is based on a mixture of Indian musical styles and instruments blended with trip-hop and electronica. In most ways it is gentle listening but lyrically challenging. If you are not familiar with some Indian styles it might take some getting used to but you'll find it well worth the effort. As with previous albums, Sawhney uses the vocal talents of an eclectic blend of MC's, vocalists and Indian/Asian voices to deliver his message. Whilst Natacha Atlas is the best known of those present in this album the other relative unknowns also deliver the goods.
The single 'Falling' is a ripper but perhaps the most straight forward of all the tracks. 'Say Hello' is a sleeping stunner - gets better and better. The latter half of the album is dominated by instrumentals blended with Indian vocals, radio samples and voal themes in English that is at time mezmerising. In all it's a seamless blend of work from front to back and well worth a listen. In fact you SHOULD own this. I know I'm late with the holiday day-time listening recommendations but this is DEFINITELY the one you should be chilling out by the pool to...or even as the winter draws nearer, let this be the soundtrack to your evenings as you arrive home from a night out or just plain staying in.
All in all this is a masterpiece of emotion and aural bliss like very few other albums this year. Id expect that this album should be well in the running for the Mercury Prize for 2003 too.
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