i sometimes wonder how different life would have been if i was born in east africa like my parents or in india like my grandparents. i may have had a completely different musical palate, for one thing.
i've grown to appreciate the incredible vocal ranges, sophisticated scales and intricate instrumentation that are all part of classical indian music. but the pop stuff only made sense to me when i travelled to india the first time last year.
indian electronica, though, has been a great bridge for me. similar to indian cuisine, where spices are simmered together at the exact right time, indian music and electronica must be carefully combined to elicit an undeniable yet dramatic flavour. sometimes the results are disastrous. and at other times the results are incredible - and very addictive.
today's post features a podcast by chicago-based progressive house/trance producer and dj, tony estrada. this came to me courtesy of qasim virjee - also known in dj circles as abdul smooth, and his baby: www.indianelectronica.com.
the set starts off a bit bland. with track names like "lost in reflection" and "pink elephant" i wondered if tony's track selection resulted from too many india pale ales... but halfway through the mix i heard it: nomadix's beautiful remix of asha bhosle's cinematic classic 'chura liya'. this was immediately followed by meme's 2001 nights mix of shakira's 'ojos asi'.
seriously.
these were followed by some infectious electric-cairo-disco, including a must-hear version of "walk like an egyptian' by cleopatra + hakim, and tony's own rhythmic remix of dead can dance's 'saldek', topped by 'haram aleyk' by the yalla-chant queen herself, natacha atlas... some great hip shaking tunes.
i suddenly want to jet to mumbai... and if i did, i'd be lucky to check out qasim's mumbai instalment of the indian electronica music festival.
in the meantime, tony estrada's 2006 shiva lounge mix:
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