Surinder Sandhu SauRang Orchestra

I orginally purchased this CD after hearing about it on various forums. I have to say I was totally unprepared for the music. It was very different to what I expected.

The music is fresh, dynamic and highly orginal. Don't buy this album if you want easy listening or want it to sound like something it isn't. It's in it's own space.

The JFDERRY review is somewhat unlrealistic in that he thinks the soloists are wasted because they don't get long long solo's etc. I think there's a real skill to capture in a short phrase a musicians magic. Infact, in India, Classical recordings were initially made with Indian Ragas performing only 2 minute renditions of normally 60+ minute renditions.

Also, Derry's so called 'gripe' on the Mridangam peaking is silly, anyone who knows the drum will know that the buzzing is part of the drums sound (I know as I am South Indian and my family have been playing Mridangam, Ghatam and Khanjira for 3 generations).

All in all, Saurang orchestra is a magical recording, a real landmark. Its not a Shakti style recording with elaborate solo's, nor is it a coltrane style that allows the soloist to play until he has exhausted his idea's. Rather, Saurang captures some beautiful performances from the worlds finest musicians.

Bravo! I only wish there were more albums like this that had the guts to cross boundaries without fear!

This is an overpopulated album. And I'm sorry to say that spoils it for me.

Full credit to the producers and musicians for succeeding in completing what must have been a logistic nightmare. Simply getting everyone recorded (in a variety of locations) and then piecing it all together is a great achievement. Simply getting the musicians that they did manage to collect together is also amazing. Andy Sheppard and Stevie Vai for cripes sake! Other than a little unfortunate shredding, Vai plays beautifully, even acoustically in places, which is a rare treat. Another guitarist of note is Roland Chadwick who I think steals the show for playing so differently from his norm (with neither his classical nor blues hats on). One-Worder Mark Anderson provides some splendidly solid drumming on a few tracks but there is no room for him to expand his playing. Session duties only. He is also credited for percussion but this is hard to spot in the spectral melee. Indeed the quality of the playing is superb throughout. That's not the problem. I'll attempt to convey my misgivings better.

The overall style must be described as orchestral with featured soloists and this is indeed the intended result as indicated in the informal and friendly liner notes.

Within SauRang, I wanted to create a platform for these incredible soloists (who have become synomymous with the instruments they play), to share their voices in a musical framework loosely based on Indian themes.

Themic, or anthemic, it certainly is. Strong surging passages give way to intricate subtleties between strings and various Indian percussion. Elephant Strings is so lovely that it could have been written by Nick Drake. Suddenly, as if gatecrashing, a guest artist will magically appear in the centre of the mix, playing an efficient and economic solo, that says just the right thing in just the right number of bars, before the music takes a turn and shoots off towards the next soloist's doorstep. Thus the music is plastic, reshaped and reformed to accommodate as many individual phrases as possible. The overriding influence here is from the editing console and not the musicians that the work claims to celebrate. These people are not allowed time to establish a presence. The plot lacks character development.

A lot of the music is exciting and engaging, but partly due to the compositions, partly the fusion of neoclassical and raga / rock / blues styles, but mainly because of the editing and cameo solo spots, there is a feeling of disjointedness typical of film scores and a disassociation that one usually experiences on charity singles like Feed The World.

A major gripe I have is the recorded sound of the S.V.Balakrishna's mridangam throughout, but worst on Autumn Rhythm. A professional recording should not allow the levels to peak as it does on this. I have fallen foul of the same problem when recording tabla, but the tabla here is fine. It's the mridangam that bubbles and peaks out of control. Definitely a technician's sin.

SauRang Orchestra is reminiscent of Shankar Project Tana Mana and Godfrey Reggio / Philip Glass Koyaanisqatsi.