Vajra Virahi (Newari painting)
There are two types of
people in this world, I reckon. Mountain people or ocean people. I’m the former. Mountains give me peace. They form a
mysterious connection to something ancient in my soul. They are where I feel
most at home.
I grew up in the Himalayas,
so that probably is why I feel this. Oceans to me were as familiar as my
American cousins and visited with about the same (in)frequency.
In the early 90s I spent some time in the refugee camps of south eastern Nepal where I worked with Bhutanese like those pictured here. I visited Kathmandu
fairly regularly and stayed just a short evening stroll from the Durbar (royal)
square of Patan (below), one of three ancient cities that make up modern Kathmandu.
Patan is rich with culture, arts and the narrow galis that meander off the main square are full of curio, antique
and traditional handicraft shops. It was
always exciting and invigorating to wander through the area absorbing as one
does in Asia, a thousand smells, sounds and sights in each step.
Sadly, during my stay in
Nepal I was too focused on buying cheap tapes of western music to delve into the
local scene. About as close as I got were regular trips for kebabs, beer and
great conversation with a dear friend, Pratap, at a local restaurant that had
live ghazal singers most
evenings.
My memory of the music of
the Garhwal mountains where I went to school in India is dominated by the
flute. Played lonely but beautifully by an unseen shepherd or dudhwala (milkman) around the next misty
corner. It still stirs my spirit in a way no other music can. Bringing
home feelings of comfort, loss, security and wonder.
Tonight’s post is a
wonderful record called Himalaya Blues. It is the work of two Norwegian musicians, Knut Reiersrud, an accomplished blues
guitarist and Hans Fredrik Jacobsen
a composer, multi instrumentalist and a Nepali folk band Vajra. The Scandianvians had
a group called the Funky Homosapiens which
toured India and Nepal where the idea of this record was born. The Funky Homosapiens and Vajra played together at a jazz
festival in Kathmandu and so loved the experience they determined to make
record.
The result is Himalaya Blues a
superb blending of Nepali flute based folk tunes and western music. It is elegant, never precious, meditative
without being dull. It is also full of surprises. Ever
thought you’d hear She Holds the Whole
World in Her Hands sung in Nepali? And
for those of you who, like me, love wandering the bazaars of Asia with no
particular destination the opening few minutes will be a complete delight!
This is a east-west fusion of high quality, up there with some of Ry Cooder’s, Taj Mahal’s and Ravi Shankar’s cross cultural
work. Fantastic.
Track Listing:
01 Kuvisa
02
Morning Song
03
Mother Himalaya
04
Sylvartun
05
Shangri-La
06
Loknes
07
Ballad Of The Sad Young Tigers
08
Golden Tap
09
Himalaya Blues
Listen here.
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Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thunder in the Mountains: Himalaya Blues
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1 comment:
Fantastic! (I was just thinking about Nepal the other day...)
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