August 24, 2004 | Posted by at 3:07 AM

So Indian it Hurts

Tala Matrix

Audiomaze and Triangular Objects from the Tala Matrix CD.

Even your mom's sampled some tablas over the past few years, but here Bill Laswell and his collaborators (Ustaad Zakhar Hussein and Talvin Singh, among others) let the tabla lead. All other beats and melodies bow down and humbly follow.

And, no, it's not at all Starbucks-World-Musick-y. It's Indian electronica that somehow ends up closer to Aphex Twin than to Thievery Corporation.

Shit gets way off the 4/4. And I'm not sure how you'd dance to most of it...

But when the tracks find their groove, it's mad deep.

Sometimes, though, he just yanks it away from you, leaving you on the floor in tears, crying, screaming 'Please, please, please Lord, extend the groove, I'll repent right now!" But He doesn't, so then you just lay there in the fetal position until he decides to kick you in the kidney and make you move again.

Buy it here, because 16 bucks is only like 740 rupees. And it's bahut first class tabla music, yar.

Sidenote: Sorry I been gone so long. Moving to Japan's been time-consuming, yo. Drop me a line if you want a postcard. Or click my name below for pictures.

Comments

Great. this is perfect toking music, lights out, headphones on....

Posted by: Heraclitus at August 24, 2004 11:25 AM

solid post.
bonus points for usage of rupee's and yar.

Posted by: r at August 24, 2004 1:44 PM

I was lucky enough to see the Tabla Beat Science at Stern Grove, SF a couple of years ago. It was their first live performance and off the hook.

What's interesting about this team is that it is a worldwide collaboration effort. There are artists in India and in the UK. They first met each other face-to-face after the tracks were laid down.

Go buy this one now.

Posted by: Robert at August 25, 2004 2:25 PM

Good track. Thanks!

=darwin

Posted by: Darwin at August 25, 2004 2:40 PM

"Sometimes, though, he just yanks it away from you, leaving you on the floor in tears, crying, screaming 'Please, please, please Lord, extend the groove, I'll repent right now!" But He doesn't, so then you just lay there in the fetal position until he decides to kick you in the kidney and make you move again."

This is excellent writing and a great description of some nice tracks. I started reading this blog recently and I'm really enjoying it. Thanks!

Posted by: peaseblossom at August 26, 2004 3:24 PM
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