There are so
many modern musical tantric wonders emerging from the swirling
multicolored cauldron that is stoked with Bollywood & techno &
new kirtan fires nowadays- where does one begin?
I have fallen
in love (metaphorically) with Talvin Singh. Before I go any
further, better to immerse one’s atman in the glow first:
What can you
say about an Indian man, raised in the UK, who has played with everyone
from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Madonna, Sun Ra
Björk, and Massive Attack! Break dancer, Punker and classically
trained tabla player, Mr. Singh epitomizes the double-helix impact of
sparkling Tantrika impacting the Western mystical traditions. His music
is fantastical, astounding and completely modern while still evoking
the ancient Shiva temples of Mohenjodaro and the subways of Londinium.
For dancing,
meditation, magick play/ work I find that all of his albums are superb
and deliciously helpful in reaching bliss.
I am especially
enthralled with ANOKHA for meditation or ritual work, it being
completely instrumental and rather ambient, but with that Kundulini
rattling tabla whiplash that stirs the energy in any circle.
A quick
discography follows, because I love them all and can’t imagine being a
modern Western practicing Tantric without Talvin Singh adding to the
Shiva-Gnosis of my workings!
Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground (1997) Island
Ok (1998) Island
Ha (2001) Island
Back to Mine (2001) DMC
Vira (2002) Navras Calcutta Cyber
Cafe (2009) Chilly
A wonderful
side note! Talvin Singh is a key player in the wild band of crazies and
ethno-techno music mavens called Future Sound of London. They make more
shakti shaking music than my small mind can encompass and it is all
marvelous magick music to twirl amidst the stars by.
JAI UTTAL
Continuing down the
Cross-cultural Neuron Highway between the limbic East & West, we
must recommend the merry trickster and cherubic Shiva-ji named Jai
Uttal. Yes, a bit softer, a bit more Kirtan-ish and chant-ish and all
around mellower, Jai Uttal bloomed out of NYC and seeded in Bengal
India, mastering many traditional Indian instruments and chants and
clearly absorbing and transmuting the VIBE- Jai Ma, Jai Deva, Jai Uttal! He has an
astoundingly long and serpent-like discography, and I first fell in
love with MONKEY, but it is BEGGERS AND SAINTS that has me dancing like
a nut case around the living room - so here is a taste of Shiva from
that album:
While leaning
heavily into the lotus pool of Hindu mythology/traditional music, he is
not afraid to add a strong dose of humor, a bit of rocking out and some
jazz-like riffs here and there. Did I hear a bit of Coltrane…? Or is
that Hanuman?
For a bit more
from the man himself (on Babies for Bhakti!) expressing where his music
flows from better than I could surmise:
I have about
half his albums and I recommend all of them, Here is a list of his CDs:
Footprints (1990) - with Don Cherry and Lakshmi Shankar
Monkey (1992)
Yoga Chant
Spirit Room
Beggars and Saints (1995)
Shiva Station (1997)
Nectar
Mondo Rama
Kirtan!
Music for Yoga
Pranayama
Loveland
Dial M for Mantra Thunder Love
(2009)
“Forget the
dancer, the center of the ego. Become the dance. That is the
meditation Dance so deeply that you forget completely that 'you' are
dancing and begin to feel that you are the dance. The division must
disappear. Then it becomes a meditation. If the division is there,
then it is an exercise: good, healthy, but it cannot be said to be
spiritual. It is just a simple dance. Dance is good in itself. As far
as it goes, it is good. After it, you will feel fresh, young. But it is
not meditation yet. The dancer must go, until only the dance remains.”
