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Sample Track 1:
"Shuddha Sarang" from Om Namo Narayanaya: SOUL CALL
Sample Track 2:
"Bhoopali" from Om Namo Narayanaya: SOUL CALL
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Album Review

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Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon: Soul Call (Om Namo Narayanaya)

It is tempting to lead with this release’s fascinating backstory. But the music is even better. I hope it was more the music than the story that led to its nomination for a 2010 Grammy in the Best Contemporary World Music Album category, alongside greats like Béla Fleck, Bebel Gilberto, Angelique Kidjo and Sergio Mendes.

In Soul Call (Om Namo Narayanaya) Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon has created a beautiful album of songs built on a “healing mantra,” backed by a blend of Indian and western instruments. The CD has eight “songs” (plus a “radio edit” of the eighth) all built around well-known ragas. All begin with a short alap-type section with drones and the main instruments exploring the scale as Tandon slowly sings a “sloka,” each a different Hindu prayer of surrender to inner grace. Then the song itself begins, each a different exploration of the eight syllables of the mantra “om namo narayanaya.” (Naraya is a name of Vishnu, the sustainer of creation).

Tandon’s voice is a beautiful and sublimely expressive instrument, always relaxed but always focused, and incredibly on pitch, demonstrating an impressive range and seemingly casual control at both high and low ends. It doesn’t matter what she is singing, your mind and body simply relax and receive it with gratitude.

The album starts with “Bhoopali” prominently featuring the flute, as in some of the more beloved versions of this raga. It also has a brief section of carnatic-style violin solo, and as with all the tracks, a variety of drums from Indian and other cultures — this one a deep booming drum that I suspect is Brazilian.

“Bageshri,” slower than “Bhoopali” but with a focused energy nonetheless, has a western-style string section playing both pizzicato and with bows, and what sounds like a harp. Others have tinkling of glockenspiel or similar bells, vibraphone, piano, electric bass guitar, sitar or sarod and many droning instruments, from tambura to deep tones that I suspect are synthesized. “Manj Kamaj Medley” has a stately melodic line over a lively 6/8 rhythm, while “Malkauns” is in 7/8, with a subtle and deep bass drum note on the first of each seven beats. “Basanth” is very dramatic in what we would call a minor key, with the vocals climbing to very high notes before sliding back down to Tandon’s deep register, accompanied by drones, drums and swooping strings. “Basanth Mukhari,” at 10 minutes the longest track, begins with two flamenco guitars over a droning tabla before it kicks into a Bollywood-style dance rhythm, a mixed vocal chorus chanting behind Tandon.

This is Tandon’s second album, but she is no callow youth seeking fame and fortune in popular music. She didn’t start pursuing music until she had spent nearly 30 years as a high-powered business executive and consultant in New York. She is chairwoman of Tandon Capital Associates, executive-in-residence at New York University Stern, a member of the board of overseers of the Stern School of Business and a member of the President’s Council of International Activities at Yale.

She also has established a non-profit organization, and all of the proceeds from this album are being donated to benefit organizations in the fields of community building, arts and spirituality.

“This CD is about creating a circle of love,” she says. “We are reaching out to each other; we are reaching each other’s hearts and souls through the beautiful sounds that the universe has given us a chance to create. Music breaks boundaries easier than words.”

Beautiful sentiments, but the music is even more beautiful. I encourage you to check it out. You can listen to tracks on her Facebook page and her website.

 01/06/11 >> go there
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