NITIN SAWHNEY
Beyond Skin
(Outcaste Records )
Nitin Sawhney´s third full length album Beyond Skin begins with the Indian Prime Minister Vaypajee proudly announcing the testing of three nuclear bombs on Indian soll. These tests took place in 1998. A tender Fender Rhodes in the background, an electric guitar, strings and tablas, clicks from a Geiger counter..."Distant shadows... Just five miles from India´s nuclear test site the children play in the shade of the village water tank here in the Rajestan dessert, people say they are proud that their country showed their nuclear capability", Spooky.
Beyond Skin is a serious album dealing with issues of war, colonialism, migration and religion - and the situation for the Indian population in Great Britain.
Beyond Skin is also a musical adventure with the most beautiful sounds and music.
The first 12", Homelands, is a beat mixture of Spanish bolero grooves and Hindi chanting. On The Pilgrim the rapper Spek is rhyming over a slow breakbeat, deep b-line and a string instrument called swalin. Nostalgia is slow and solemn drum´n bass with strings and vocals by Tina Grace.
Beyond Skin is a musical and political journey back in time. It creates a meeting between classical music, jazz and Indian film music in multilayered mixes with extracts from news broadcasts from BBC news and All India Radio bulletins about India´s struggle for independence. Yet, regardless of the strong political implications, the music is accessible and it is easy to drift with the beautiful ambience of sounds. This is a contender for the album of the year. Absolutely brilliant!