#4449, Indian Voices With Western Ensembles

Hear Indian vocalists (North and South India) together with western musicians and instruments with music from playback singer Asha Bhosle to Anglo-Indian singer Najma Akhtar, ranging from arrangements of Hindi songs for Bollywood film music to the centuries-old devotional and love poems known as ghazal.

Listen to works from the Kronos Quartet / Asha Bhosle release, You’ve Stolen My Heart, where the Quartet reworks some of Bollywood soundtrack composer RD Burman's best-loved tunes. On the record is playback singer Asha Bhosle, whose career has spanned over seven decades, and she has recorded for over a thousand movies. (She was Burman’s wife and muse from 1980-1994.)

Also, hear a tune by electronic music producer Holmes Ives & classically trained vocalist Devika along with music from Najma Aktar, or just Najma, who is one of the very first artists to have created a fusion of jazz and Indian ghazal (love songs and spiritual songs.) Then, listen for music from New York-based band Bombay Rickey, led by singer and composer Kamala Sankaram. Expect psychedelia topped with often stratospheric vocals, evoking Hindi film music, California surf guitar, and old-school funk. Plus, there’s music from the Bombay Dub Orchestra, and the late Algerian DJ Cheb I Sabbah, who blends devotional music from the Indian subcontinent with electronica.

Program #4449, Indian Voices/Western Ensembles (First Aired 1/19/2021)

ARTIST: Asha Bhosle / The Kronos Quartet
WORK: Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne [5:09]
RECORDING: You've Stolen My Heart
SOURCE: Nonesuch #79856
INFO: nonesuch.com

ARTIST: Najma / Church of Betty
WORK: Aaj Madhosh Hua Jaye Re [4:23]
RECORDING: Forbidden Kiss
SOURCE: Shanachie #64063
INFO: shanachie.com

ARTIST: Holmes Ives & Devika
WORK: Jab Se Piya [3:47]
RECORDING: Jab Se Piya remixes
SOURCE: DISCO GECKO
INFO:  https://www.sixdegreesrecords.com/holmes-ives-and-devika-jab-se-piya-remixes-vol-1

ARTIST: Asha Bhosle / The Kronos Quartet 
WORK: Dum Maro Dum [4:44]
RECORDING: You've Stolen My Heart
SOURCE: Nonesuch #79856
INFO: nonesuch.com

ARTIST: Barrett Martin Group, ft. Mehnaz Hoosein
WORK: Mehnaz Hoosein: Sarasvati [4:23]
RECORDING: Scattered Diamonds
SOURCE: Sunyata Records
INFO: barrettmartin.com

ARTIST: Bombay Rickey
WORK: Bombay 5-0 [3:07]
RECORDING: Cinefonia
SOURCE: Cowboys & Indian
INFO: bombayrickey.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Najma Akhtar & Gary Lucas
WORK: Pensif Khayal [4:44]
RECORDING: Rishte
SOURCE: World Village 450008
INFO: Available via forcedexposure.com or Amazon.com 

ARTIST: Bombay Dub Orchestra
WORK: Junoon [5:33]
RECORDING: 3 Cities
SOURCE: Six Degrees #1153 
INFO: sixdegreesrecords.com

ARTIST: DJ Cheb I Sabbah feat. Ustad Sultan Khan
WORK: Shri Durga [10:13]
RECORDING: Shri Durga
SOURCE: Six Degrees Records 657036-1009-2
INFO: sixdegreesrecords.com