Asana OHM Shanti

by Asana

Overview

Bassist and producer Bill Laswell's 30-year musical journey has taken him through the wilds of rock, hip-hop, funk, electronica, ethnic fusion, and hellacious noise, but in recent years it seems like he keeps gravitating back to the ethno realm. There's always been a thick vein of dark mysticism winding like a black rope through his various musical projects. The degree to which he buys into the reality of any of the transcendence he peddles is an open question, but one thing is certain: no one writes a prettier bassline, or delivers it with more elephantine authority, or brings together more beautifully matched singers and players. His latest under the group moniker Asana (the core of which is a duo consisting of Laswell and percussionist Karsh Kale, joined by a variety of South Asian collaborators) finds him exploring Indian classical and devotional themes as expressed by singers Kiran Ahluwalia, Ustad Sultan Khan, Asha Puthli, and others. The pattern is set early on: Kale builds a tasteful but generally restrained rhythmic bed on which Laswell lays down a bassline of dark, rich suppleness, and then someone starts singing. When that someone is Ahluwalia, the resulting sound is joyful and soaring; when it's Khan, the sound is grittier and more earthbound. And when it's Vidya Shah, it's a sharp, keening wail offset brilliantly by Laswell's meaty bass and a juddering jungle breakbeat. Every track is brilliant, each one in a different way. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

Product Details

Release Date:	02/21/2006
Label:	Meta
UPC:	0658137002024
Rank:	70783

Tracks

1. Morning Breeze
2. Kala Infinite
3. Shiva Stone
4. Mukti
5. Shriva Manas Puji
6. Ohm Shanti
7. Balama
8. Pattern Release
9. Here Comes the Sun

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Asana   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Bill Laswell   Primary Artist,Percussion,Keyboards,Bass,Drums
Falguni Shah   Primary Artist,Vocals
Robert Musso   Primary Artist,Keyboards,Guitar
Salim Merchant   Primary Artist,Keyboards
Kiran Ahluwalia   Primary Artist,Vocals
Asha Puthli   Primary Artist,Vocals
Karsh Kale   Primary Artist,Drums,Tabla,Rhythm,Percussion
Sultan Khan   Primary Artist,Vocals,Sarangui
Vidya Shah   Vocals

Technical Credits

Robert Musso   Engineer,Composer
Sultan Khan   Composer
Karsh Kale   Beats,Arranger,Composer,Programming
Kiran Ahluwalia   Composer
Michael Fossenkemper   Mastering
James Dellatacoma   Assistant Engineer
Salim Merchant   Composer
Asha Puthli   Composer
Jeff Lewis   Artwork
Vidya Shah   Composer
Falguni Shah   Composer
Janet Rienstra   Concept
Bill Laswell   Producer,Composer,Sounds