|
One of the latest releases in the meticulously researched and packaged Topic Records World Series, these are recordings of a variety of vocal performances gathered by Rolf Kilius during his travels in East and Northeast India. The 13 tracks (with lyrics in seven languages) cover a dizzying amount of ethnic and geographic territory, including a buzzing three-note baptismal song performed by the priestesses of the Saroa tribe, with its hypnotic echo-chorusing; a rolling, up-tempo wedding song punctuated with an almost vaudevillian cross-patter routine; the raw, spiraling voice of a 16-year-old Baul singing, “If you love somebody, your mind will be fresh”; the call and response between a female singer delivering a quivering funereal elegy and an ecstatic choir of ululating mourners; the childlike simplicity of a simple greeting song, and more. If the variety seems a little overwhelming at first, it's only because there is so much of interest here to absorb.
|
RSS Feeds
